The Dark Bandit (v 2)
by The TurquoiseCow
Summary: Not long before the sixteenth birthday party of the Princess Hikari of Yagami, Miyako of Inoue is attacked by one mysterious bandit and saved by another. Her life is thus changed forever.
1. Confusion

The rain had recently come to an end, leaving a mess of mud and puddles all over the path. The air was cool but not unpleasant, and the weather was perfect for a stroll to the market.

The only bad thing about it, in the opinion of Miyako of Inoue, was that it was fairly impossible to keep the hem of her skirts clean. If there was too much mud upon them, she would certainly hear a long lecture from her mother. It was thus necessary to lift the stupid things and carry them, which wouldn't be too difficult if she wasn't trying to carry a bulky basket as well. At least the basket wasn't full, yet. Returning would be twice as difficult.

Hawkmon, her digimon partner, had no such trouble. He flew along beside her, occasionally pausing to rest and wait for her on nearby tree branches. He was doing so now, absently pruning a few of his feathers as he waited.

Sora, of Takenouchi, her closest friend, was also a few steps ahead of Miyako. She was dressed in a blue dress and a white apron, which would likely be not quite so white by the time their excursion ended. Unlike Miyako, Sora had no great concern about her skirts, and so did not take quite such care in keeping them clean. Perhaps, Miyako thought, it was because Lady Takenouchi was not likely to give her a lecture.

"Sora, wait up!" Miyako half-wailed. Sora was quite a bit ahead of her now.

"Oh, come on," Sora cheerfully called back. "We're almost there. Don't hold us up now!"

"I'm not," Miyako returned. "I'm trying to keep my dress clean!"

A shrug was Sora's response. "It'll only need to be washed again anyway," she said, but waited a few moments for her friend to catch up.

"Do you suppose they will have the noon meal waiting for us when we return?" Hawkmon wondered absently from his perch. "I'm not sure we'll return in time to eat with the rest of the house."

Piyomon, Sora's pink and blue partner, giggled a bit in response to this. Miyako glared wordlessly toward both birds as she came closer.

It was not long after that they reached the small village of Takenouchi-Inoue. Several centuries previous, the Lords of Takenouchi and Inoue had decided to pool their land and resources and form an alliance which stood to this day, and which kept its name despite the fact that there was not now and likely would never again be a Lord of Takenouchi, and had not been since Sora was quite young and her father had been killed.

Lady Takenouchi had spent quite a bit of time and effort in an attempt to groom her daughter into a young lady. Several dozen times, Sora had been sent off to the palace in the hopes that she might meet a suitable young man, and each time she had returned with tales of gossip and adventures, but without any interest in marriage.

Miyako had watched Sora leave and listened to these tales with some great interest, but her parents had refused to allow her to go along. Miyako had never been to the capital, never seen the King and Queen, never met any other young ladies with whom she might have become friends.

All this had promised to change a few days earlier, when an invitation had arrived from the palace. The Princess was to celebrate a birthday, and it was her wish that all the young ladies of the land celebrate along with her.

"I don't have any clue how to act," Miyako confessed as they passed by a stand filled with shiny, beautiful fabrics. "I've never even seen the Princess. What if I say something completely wrong?"

"All I know about her is that she has a Tailmon for a partner," Hawkmon said unhelpfully. "That's a very rare sort."

"Very rare," Piyomon chirped in agreement. "I don't believe there are any others in the world."

"Not that you're particularly common," Miyako said to her partner. "I've never met any other Hawkmon. Not," she added, "that I've met very many people or digimon in general."

"Your family's nobility, Miyako," Sora said, gently running her fingers over a particularly smooth bit of blue fabric. "You know how to conduct yourself."

"The only formal occasions I've ever been to were my sisters' weddings," Miyako replied in disagreement. "They told me to sit there and be quiet. No one paid much attention to me, no one expected me to make conversation. I was too young. There certainly weren't any Princesses there!"

"Your last sister _was_ married quite young," Sora recalled, and sighed. "My mother seems to think I should do the same. You should be glad your mother hasn't pressured you to marry yet."

"Marry who?" Miyako returned. "I've met no one _to_ marry."

"You will meet a few at the palace, I assure you."

Miyako snorted in disbelief. "Why would any of them pay any attention to me if there is a Princess available?"

Sora said nothing in response, instead calling to the merchant: "I'd like to buy this, please."

Seeing nothing which caught her eye, Miyako wandered away from the fabric stall and absently surveyed the marketplace. There were a few shops, and carts and stalls set up with a multitude of objects for sale. Amidst the merchants went potential shoppers of a multitude of backgrounds. Most were villagers, dressed in plain and unremarkable clothes. A few were obviously travelers, picking up goods while on a long journey.

Having finished her purchase, Sora returned. "Well, I probably don't need it," she confessed, "but it's quite nice, and so I didn't think Mother would mind. Did you get everything you came for?"

Miyako looked down at her basket. There were a few loaves of freshly baked bread, wrapped in cloths to keep warm, and a few vegetables, along with a particularly juicy fruit she had bought for herself to eat on the return journey. "I think so," she replied. "Shall we go back?"

"If it makes you feel better," Sora said as they walked, "none of the young men will have an easy time with the Princess, as both her father and her brother are quite protective of her."

"Her brother?" Miyako echoed, for she had heard quite a few stories of _him_ from Sora. "Is the Prince quite intimidating?"

"He can be," Sora replied, "when he wants to be. He certainly has a temper, and he can be a bit impulsive."

"Sounds like someone else I know," Miyako commented with a slight giggle.

Sora only shrugged. "Maybe."

She was about to ask another question when someone abruptly stepped in front of her, blocking her path. Almost stumbling, Miyako took a step backward to avoid colliding with the stranger. She opened her mouth to say something, but the man raised his hand, clad in a black glove, and then something else appeared in his hand. It was only afterward that Miyako recalled hearing a whooshing noise and realized that something had moved through the air.

"What…?" she began to say, and simply stared at the object. It was a long, thin stick of wood, and a few feathers plucked from some undetermined bird digimon had been attached to one end of it.

"Miyako!" Hawkmon said. "Are you all right?"

"An – arrow?" Sora wondered. Miyako had apparently lost control of her voice.

"An arrow indeed," the stranger replied as he turned to face the girls. Miyako could see now that he was, indeed, a human being, and not simply some odd specter of her imagination. Dark, indigo hair peeked out from beneath a dark, wide brimmed hat, and piercing blue eyes stared at her from behind a black mask. The figure was dressed all in black, except for a purple sash that was wrapped around his hat. On his shoulder sat a mysterious little green creature that she could not identify.

"Are you all right?" Sora asked of Miyako, and she then pulled herself away from the stranger's eyes and saw that the others were all looking toward her with some concern. Shaking slightly, she nodded.

"Who are you?" she managed to ask of the stranger, turning back to him. Once more she found herself drawn into his eyes.

"Just a friend, milady," he replied. He was not much taller than she, and she now guessed by his voice that he was a young man, not much older than herself.

"A friend?" she echoed blankly. "Then tell me your name."

He shook his head, those eyes closing for an instance. "That I cannot do, madam," he replied. He held out his right hand, and the arrow rested in his palm. Miyako stared at it for a long moment and then took it from him. It was lightweight, capable of soaring quite a long distance, and tipped with a sharp, deadly point.

"Aimed at – me?" she wondered.

"So it would appear," the stranger replied, and she looked up to see that his eyes were now twinkling, as though he were amused by her reaction. "Someone out to get you, Lady Miyako?"

"To get me?" Miyako repeated blankly, and shook her head. "No one I could think of would wish me dead."

"Well, then you have an unknown enemy," the dark-clad figure replied, his amusement having vanished from his eyes, his tone now deadly serious. "I would advise extreme caution."

"It looks as though you are in danger," the creature upon his shoulder agreed.

"Extreme caution," Miyako said, and nodded. "I'll try. This is all new to me. I'm not used to having my life in danger, you know."

"Of course," he replied in a sympathetic tone, and took a step backward. "If you'll excuse me, I'm afraid I must depart now." He turned, bowed toward Sora, and then turned away from them.

"Wait," Miyako called after him. "What do I call you?"

He shrugged, as though it mattered not to him what name he held. "Whatever you please," he replied. "My enemies call me a Dark Bandit."

With that, he was gone, disappearing into the crowds of the market.

There was no real good way to inform her parents that she had nearly been killed in the marketplace. Miyako stared at the arrow as she walked back home. She sought out her father, at work in his office, and simply held out the small weapon to show him.

"Where did you get that?" he asked, looking up from the journals he had been studying.

"In the marketplace," she replied unhelpfully.

"It was fired at her," Sora explained, since Miyako had still not completely regained the power of speech. "We don't know who, or why, only that a stranger managed to intercept the weapon, probably saving her life."

"In the marketplace?" Lord Inoue asked. "Someone fired an arrow at her while she was in the marketplace?"

Miyako nodded. She waited, but her father said nothing further. In an instant, he was gone, and she could hear his voice in the hall. Undoubtedly, he was seeking out the man in charge of village security, demanding to know how such a thing could be possible. He did not sound angry, but nor did he sound pleased.

"Maybe you should sit for a bit," Sora suggested, and Miyako allowed herself to be led to a nearby armchair. She had barely had time to sink into the soft cushions when the door opened and shut, and Lady Inoue arrived.

"What's this I hear that you have been attacked?" she demanded, and saw then the arrow still in her daughter's hands. "Oh my, by that thing?"

"She isn't hurt," Sora assured her, since Miyako still showed no inclination for speeches or explanations, "only a bit in shock from the whole thing. A stranger intercepted the weapon and saved her life."

"A stranger?" Lady Inoue echoed. "What stranger?"

"He said that they call him a Dark Bandit," Miyako said, and all other eyes turned back toward her. "He said that he was a friend."

"A Dark Bandit?" Lady Inoue repeated. "Protected you from an arrow?"

"That seems to be it, yes," Sora replied when Miyako again said nothing. "He didn't indicate that he knew who shot the arrow. The marketplace was quite crowded and busy, and so it could have come from almost anywhere."

For a few moments longer there was silence. The door opened and shut once more as Lord Inoue returned.

"Well," Lady Inoue said at last, "I don't think you ought to go down to the market again without some sort of security escort."

"Or go out again at all," her husband agreed. "If there's a chance that this assassin has some desire to kill you, he will not stop after one attempt."

Miyako nodded without speaking. Absently, she brushed her fingers over the feathers on the arrow, and thought again about the Bandit's eyes.

"I suppose I could go in her place," Lord Inoue went on, speaking now directly to his wife. "It'd be best if one of us put in an appearance, and it would be best if it was not you."

"I don't like the idea of you going there alone," the Lady replied, "but I shall manage here if I must."

"In her place?" Sora echoed. "Why…?"

"Miyako _must_ stay behind," the Lord replied. "If her life is in danger, there must be no need to risk her further with travel."

"Oh, but…," Miyako began, and then fell meekly silent again, visibly unhappy.

"Do you not think that she might be safer in the palace than here?" Sora asked. "You could ask for the King's help in protecting her, and…."

"I do not require the King's help," Lord Inoue interrupted. "I will protect my own daughter on my own lands before I ask such a thing."

"In the midst of a party, though," Sora continued, "there will be much security, and she will be no easy target. Besides, aren't we supposed to travel with the Lord Motomiya? Surely he will help."

"Surely he would," Lady Inoue admitted. "We have no quarrel with him."

"That is true," the Lord agreed. "This enemy might not kill her with so many witnesses, and he might find it a harder task there."

By the time the evening meal was to be served, Miyako had bathed and been dressed in clean and suitable clothing, a more formal gown of pale blue, with yellow trim and white lace, perfect for the task of greeting visitors. She left the arrow upon her bed and made her way to the entrance hall of the building.

As she descended the stairs, she saw that a small crowd of people was assembled in the foyer. Along with a half-dozen servants, there stood a small family of nobles exchanging greetings. Miyako watched from a distance as her father exchanged a warm hug with another man. Her mother and Lady Takenouchi were similarly greeting another lady, and their digimon were also converging in the space. The sounds of conversation echoed off the tall ceilings and filled the hall.

Nearby, a small crowd of younger people stood, talking to Sora. The young lady and one of the men were obviously siblings, as they had a similar reddish colored hair, matching the visiting Lord and Lady. A second young man was with them, however, this one with dark indigo hair. He was dressed in shades of blue and black, and had stuffed both hands into his pockets and adopted a slightly bored expression, as though he was not quite involved in the conversation. Near his feet was a small green digimon which looked quite strange, and yet quite familiar.

As though he felt her eyes upon him, the young man turned his head in her direction. Even from a distance, she could see the color of them, a piercing blue that seemed to see her quite clearly from so far away. Miyako felt a shiver run down her spine, though the temperature was nowhere near to cold.

Almost immediately, however, he turned away from her.

"Miyako!" came the sound of her mother's voice then. "Come, join us, please!"

This was enough to cause all eyes in the hall to turn toward her, even those of these visitors she had never met. Having no other choice but to obey, Miyako made her way down the steps and paused at the bottom to curtsy to the whole of the crowd.

"Oh, she's beautiful," said the unidentified lady. "We have not seen her since she was quite small indeed, but yes, she's grown up quite nicely."

"Of course, of course," Lady Inoue replied proudly. "Miyako, come now," she said, and took hold of her hand, coaxing her into the already crowded foyer. "You don't remember them, do you?"

Miyako looked over the newcomers and shook her head blankly, for she had no recollection of them. "No," she replied. "Sorry, I…."

"It's quite all right, dear," said the lady. "You were barely six years old last time we saw you."

"Miyako," Lady Inoue said, making the introductions, "this is Lady and Lord Motomiya."

Miyako curtsied once more. "Pleased to meet you," she said politely, and they responded in kind.

"I wonder," Lady Motomiya replied, "if you might remember my children." She turned toward the younger members of the crowd, and gestured for them to step forward. "Jun, Daisuke, do you remember Miyako?"

"I remember her," Jun said immediately. To Miyako, she said, "My brother pulled your hair and you punched him in the face."

Her brother, Daisuke, appeared to be as astonished by this recollection as Miyako was. "She did?" he asked of his sister, who nodded, quite certain of this fact.

"Sorry," Miyako said. "I don't remember that."

"Don't worry about it," Jun assured her. "I'm sure he deserved it."

This produced a round of laughter from most of the others in the room. Daisuke frowned indignantly toward his sister, and Miyako merely blinked at them all in confusion.

"Well, it's nice to meet you," Miyako said when the laughter had died down once more. "I promise not to punch anyone this time."

"Ah, and this is Ken, of Ichijouji," Lord Motomiya said, gesturing toward the unidentified stranger. "He's coming along with us for the ride."

"Nice to meet you," Miyako said again, meeting his eyes. He said nothing, though, only nodded back to her, and bowed slightly.

"Come," Lady Inoue said, "let us head into the dining room and eat. I'm sure you are all hungry."

"Very much so!" came the response of several of the digimon in unison.

Dinner on a whole went quite smoothly. The food was delicious, and both the adults and the younger people conversed quite effortlessly and pleasantly. Miyako found herself seated beside Jun, with Sora on the other side of their visitor, and the conversation between them all was quite fascinating. Jun had as many tales to tell as Sora did, and some of them were far more interesting, and interestingly told as well.

Across the table were the two young men. Miyako found her eyes drifting in that direction every so often and meeting the gaze of Ken of Ichijouji. Somehow, each time she glanced in his direction, he was looking back toward her. When he did, she blushed and looked away.

Jun noticed this attention almost immediately and grinned toward Miyako. Lowering her voice so that neither their parents nor the boys could hear them, she said, "He _is_ rather pleasant to look at, isn't he?"

She had, in fact, been thinking this thought, though it was not the only one she had been thinking. "Well, I," she stammered for a moment, and supposed that she was blushing again. "He seems very mysterious," she finally said.

"Oh, quite," Jun replied. "Ken has many secrets, and I think the only one he's ever shared anything with is Daisuke." She took a gulp from her glass. "Do you want to hear the whole story as I know it?"

Miyako hesitated, wondering if showing too much interest would cause Jun to misconstrue her motivations. "I would," Sora said. "I admit I've never had more than a two word conversation with him."

"Well," Jun said, swallowing her latest bite of food, "his older brother, Osamu, was killed in a terrible accident several years back. He was a brilliant soldier, even though he was quite young, and very lucky in battle."

"Oh my," Sora said. "I don't think I knew that."

"That was almost six years ago," Jun went on. "It seems that since then, Lord and Lady Ichijouji have been positively grief-stricken, and have paid little attention to any social matters, or, it seems, their own remaining son."

"How awful!"

"Well, over the past few years, Ken has mostly been staying with us," Jun said. "Daisuke and he are practically inseparable."

"What is he like?" Miyako wondered aloud before she could stop herself. Jun grinned toward her again.

"Quieter than my brother," she replied, "though that's not saying anything, comparing him to Daisuke. He doesn't speak much. I, too, have never had much conversation with him. If you want to know what he's like, you'd have to ask my brother."

Miyako glanced over once more and saw the two young men were quietly conversing. Quickly, she looked away before she could once more meet Ken's eyes and begin another blushing fit.

Come morning, Miyako found herself crowded into a small but comfortable carriage with the other young people. Hawkmon and Piyomon wisely chose to ride atop the carriage, or fly beside it, enjoying the pleasant weather, but the partners of Jun, Daisuke, and Ken were inside the carriage as well. Alraumon, a plant digimon who was partnered with Jun, sat upon her partner's lap, as did Ken's partner, a small green caterpillar that Miyako did not know the name of. There was space enough on the seat for the small blue digimon known as V-mon who was partner to Daisuke. Almost immediately, he fell to sleep beside his partner.

Miyako was squeezed into a seat between Jun and Sora. The boys were seated across from her, and Miyako did her best to look at anything other than Ken. She had spent most of the evening pondering the unspoken thoughts in her head, and had come to the conclusion that he was most likely _not_ the Dark Bandit, but the questioning voices kept appearing.

"So, Mimi had nothing to say to that," Jun finished, concluding a story that Miyako had only half been paying attention to. Sora nodded as though in agreement with this statement.

"Well I should hope not," she replied. "Sometimes, she ought to stay out of things that don't concern her."

"Sometimes?" Daisuke interrupted. He and Ken had spent most of the journey so far peering out at the scenery on opposite sides of the bench, mostly uninterested in the conversations between the females.

"All right, most times," Sora conceded. "She's a gossip, I'll admit."

He snorted a half-laugh in response and turned back toward the window. "You forgot also a busybody," he added. To Miyako, he said, "When she arrives, she'll spend an hour, at least, trying to tell you how to do your hair correctly, I promise you."

"Well, there's nothing wrong with that," Jun replied. "Sometimes she has good ideas. _Sometimes,_ I said," she added when he looked at her once more with a skeptical expression.

"And _sometimes_ not," he replied with a shrug. "Not that my opinion matters."

"Well, it doesn't," Jun returned. "Not to me, anyway." Again, he shrugged.

"Can I ask a question?" Miyako said after a moment of silence had passed. "What's the Princess like, really?" Sora and Jun had both offered their perspectives, and so she now directed this toward Daisuke.

He shrugged. "She's nice enough, I suppose," he replied.

"Oh, don't listen to him," Jun said, waving a dismissive hand toward her brother. "He has a rather biased opinion of her highness."

It didn't seem to Miyako as though he had offered much of an opinion whatsoever, but Sora giggled slightly at the statement. "When they were younger," she explained to Miyako, "Daisuke and Takeru used to fight over Hikari."

"Fight?" Miyako echoed. "Why?"

"Well, they were both infatuated with her, of course," Jun replied. "Why else would they fight over a girl?"

"It's in the past now," Daisuke stated dismissively, waving a hand. Attempting to divert their attention, he turned toward Ken. "Tell what you think of her."

Ken looked away from the window for the first time since they'd entered the carriage. "She's very quiet," he replied. "Too agreeable for my tastes."

"Some people find agreeable to be a very pleasing trait," Jun retorted.

Ken frowned in her direction, his eyes suddenly quite steely and disagreeable. " _That_ explains things," he replied quietly, which managed to infuriate her somehow.

"It explains quite a great deal of you," she retorted, to which he merely shrugged.

It was after dark when they arrived at the palace. An official looking young man stood beside the carriage and waited for them all to disembark. He had dark hair and green eyes, and was dressed in the formal wear of one who often deals with important business.

"His majesty has asked that I welcome you in his place this evening," he stated. "He expresses his regrets that your official greeting must wait until the morning. I shall show you to your rooms, if you will follow me."

"You can tell him there is no cause for concern, Iori," Lord Motomiya replied. "I wish we could have arrived earlier in the day, but we are all tired and eager for sleep."

"Was the journey unpleasant?" Iori asked as they began to make their way through the corridors. The sound of conversation and footsteps echoed through the halls as the party walked, most of them carrying half or completely asleep digimon partners in their arms.

They wandered through the corridors for some time in a somewhat roundabout path. The rooms of the older adults were separate from those of the younger people, which were arranged in connecting suites, with the boys on one side of the hall and the girls on another. By the time they reached this hall, the luggage had been unloaded from the carriage and left in the rooms. With half-asleep farewells, each departed into his or her own room in order to sleep.

Ken had barely had time to set his sleeping partner down upon the bed and open the lid of his trunk of clothes before he heard a voice in the doorway.

"You're not planning to go out tonight, are you?" Daisuke asked from the connecting doorway. He was visibly exhausted, leaning against the wall as he suppressed a yawn.

Ken didn't turn around. "Did you close the door?"

"Of course," Daisuke replied. "All doors."

"I knew it was a mistake, helping her," Ken grumbled, rummaging inside his trunk. "She's most likely recognized us already."

The other shrugged. "Maybe," he said, "but she did need your help. And if there's someone after her, they're likely to try again in this place."

"Why?" V-mon asked from his partner's arms, rubbing sleep from his eyes. "Isn't the palace pretty safe?"

"Not if the assassin is working for the King," Ken replied, beginning to unbutton the shirt he wore, a pale gray garment with a bit of ruffles near the neck.

"You are going out," Daisuke observed. It wasn't a question, and was stated with a faint bit of disapproval.

"It might be my best chance," Ken returned, removing the shirt and tossing it upon the bed. "Come morning, they'll realized I've arrived, and thus put suspicion toward me." He pulled a black tunic over his head.

Daisuke sighed. "It's not safe for you here. If the King really does intend harm to Miyako, and you get in the way, then what? Taichi will follow his father before he helps you or I, and it's not as though I can free you from the dungeons."

"Not to mention that you'd be in danger, too, wouldn't you?" Ken replied. He sat upon the bed and began to remove his shoes.

"If I tried, yes," he returned. "I knew that when we started this, you know."

"Why would the King be after Miyako?" V-mon wondered. "Did she have any clue when you asked her?"

"No," Ken replied, "but she was basically completely incapable of speaking at the time, so maybe she does have _some_ idea."

"It doesn't make any sense," Daisuke said, agreeing with his partner. "So far as I can tell, the King has never even _seen_ her before. Why would he want her dead?"

"Why would anyone?" V-mon pointed out, to which there was also no answer.

Ken was lacing up his boots, tightly tying knots at the top. He got to his feet once more. "Maybe, if I look around, I'll find an answer," he said.

"You're going without Wormmon," Daisuke noted, and Ken nodded.

"If I'm spotted with him, they'll know it's me, won't they?"

"He's not going to like it," V-mon predicted.

"There isn't much choice," Ken replied, setting the wide-brimmed hat atop his head. "I'll be back in a few hours."

Daisuke yawned and turned back toward his room. "As you wish," he replied. "I will be here. Sleeping."


	2. Tensions

***  
TWO: Tensions

Morning dawned sooner than Miyako would have liked. Too soon she found Sora urging her from bed and into an acceptable dress, a pale purple color with lacy trim that Sora assured her was quite perfect not only for introduction to the King, but also for the breakfast which would follow after. She had finished making her hair presentable when the soft tap on the door signaled that Iori had arrived to lead them.

They were not the only ones who had arrived late in the evening and needed to be presented to the King before breakfast. A small but significant crowd had begun to gather outside of the great hall which housed the thrones and which was used often for such ceremonial introductions.

Within, the hall also held a smattering of people, some engaged in conversation and some holding pieces of important looking paper. A few clerks were currently clustered around the King, discussing something.

"There's nothing to be nervous about," Sora said to Miyako, who sensed that her heart rate had greatly increased since they'd passed through the large, polished wooden doors. It was easily the largest single room she had ever seen, with tall marble columns to support the ceiling, a polished, shiny floor, and a long red carpet which stretched through the center of the room toward the thrones.

The King was a tall, imposing figure, dressed in a regal outfit with a long red cape flowing behind him as he sat in the throne on the center of the raised platform. Directly to his right, slightly behind the chair, stood his partner Leomon, a tall, strong digimon with a flowing gold mane, sharp claws, and light brown fur, a sharp sword attached to a belt upon his waist.

To the left of the King sat the Queen, a slightly smaller but still imposing and authoritative figure dressed in a gown with many layers of skirts. Her partner was an Elecmon, a bright red, four legged digimon that Miyako recalled learning could spout electrical attacks in defense of its partner. For the moment, the Queen's Elecmon was sleeping peacefully, curled up on her lap.

To the right of the King sat a young man with a wild amount of brown hair piled atop his head. He was dressed in formal but comfortable clothing: a pair of black trousers and a blue tunic with gold trim. Near his feet sat a small yellow digimon, leaning against the chair and looking rather bored. The prince himself had plastered on a serious expression, but Miyako could see that he was also rather bored and eager to get on with the day. The day's introductions were nearly over.

To the left of the Queen sat a young woman with short brown hair and light brown eyes. She was dressed in a light pink dress and speaking with her partner, a white feline with a long white and purple striped tail, who sat upon the arm of the chair. This was Tailmon, whom Miyako had heard described, but never seen before, and her partner, the princess Hikari.

Miyako followed Sora, who followed Jun, who followed Daisuke, who followed Iori down the long red carpet toward the King. Noting the newcomers, the Queen's Elecmon opened her eyes and peered toward them, Agumon turned to face them, and Hikari and Tailmon ended their conversation.

"Welcome!" the King said in a booming yet kind-sounding voice. "Please, step forward."

Daisuke now glanced briefly toward Iori, who nodded, and stepped aside so that he was now at the edge of the carpet. "Your majesties, if I may, I present Daisuke and Jun, of Motomiya, as well as V-mon and Alraumon."

In unison, the siblings stepped forward. Daisuke bowed low, and Jun dipped into a formal curtsy. Then they rose, and stepped aside. Nothing more was said, though the King briefly nodded in acknowledgment.

Sora now stepped forward as she and Piyomon were introduced. Miyako noticed that a brief smiled appeared upon the face of the Prince, though even now nothing more was said.

"Miyako, the youngest of Inoue, and Hawkmon," Iori said then, and Miyako somehow managed to make her feet move forward then to dip into a smooth curtsy. Beside her, Hawkmon bowed as elegantly as possible for a bird digimon, which was surprisingly well.

"Ken, of Ichijouji, and Wormmon," Iori stated when Miyako had finished and stepped back. She let her eyes rest now upon the small green digimon, and once more her mind wandered. Was this the same creature she had seen in the marketplace of Takenouchi-Inoue? Were there others like him?

"Welcome!" the King said again. "I am quite pleased to have you all here."

"Now that introductions are complete," the Queen said, "I suppose we might have breakfast."

Breakfast was eaten in a large dining hall that somehow managed to be smaller than the great hall they had left. There were windows wide open on either side to let in the bright sunlight and cool breezes, and a number of tables spread throughout the room, which was filled with conversation.

"There are normally far more people here for meals," Hikari was saying to Miyako as the younger people clustered around a table and she took the seat beside her. "Dinner tomorrow, now that will be crowded."

"We are still missing people?" Miyako questioned, for the room was quite full by her standards.

"Oh, yes," Sora replied, taking the seat on her other side. "Lord and Lady Ishida and their two sons, as well as Mimi."

"Oh yes," Jun said from somewhere on the other side of the table. "Yamato hasn't come yet."

"He's staying away," Daisuke said to his sister, "as you scared him off last time."

"Oh, hush," she sat and gently smacked his arm with one hand. "Don't make me start telling Miyako embarrassing stories about you."

"I believe you already did," he reminded her.

"Oh, but there are many, many more," she replied. "Shall I tell her the story of the princess's twelfth birthday party?"

Hikari giggled quietly, and Sora laughed outright at this statement. Daisuke frowned toward his sister. "If you do," he mumbled threateningly.

"Oh, no, tell that one," Sora said. "I thought it was quite funny."

"As did I," Taichi commented, with a somewhat mischievous expression. "Especially the end."

"Well," Jun began, but was interrupted by the arrival of the meal. As it was set down before them, she took a few bites before she began the story.

"As I recall," Sora said, "the twelfth birthday incident had something to do with a cake."

" _That_ ," Taichi said, pausing between bites, "was the funny part."

"No, no," Jun said, shaking her head in disagreement. "The funny part was when they started fighting." Turning toward Miyako, she elaborated, "My brother and Takeru decided that the best way to determine who should hold claim over the princess was to do battle over her. Since there were no swords around to be had, they fought with sticks."

"Which was probably a good thing," Taichi noted, "as they'd have beheaded themselves with swords."

The day was a pleasant one, and so after breakfast the small crowd of young people went out to the grounds. Though Jun excused herself from the party in the interest of meeting some other friends who had arrived and she had not yet seen, the rest were eager to enjoy the weather. For a while, they strolled along through the gardens, and then they meandered toward a section which had been set aside for archery practice.

"Oh, there's something to do," Taichi said. As they had merely been conversing on mostly uninteresting subjects while strolling about the grounds, he was growing slightly bored. "Let's have a contest!"

"That should be fun," Sora agreed. "I probably won't win, but it will be fun to watch after I am eliminated in the first round."

"You're not _that_ awful," Taichi disagreed, but she shook her head.

"No, no, I'm awful. I haven't had any practice at it whatsoever. Unlike some people I have met recently," she added, glancing toward Miyako.

"You have met skilled archers recently?" Hikari asked.

"Well, not personally," Sora admitted, "but Miyako came to know the work of one quite well. If it wasn't for a strange but friendly young man, she might have been killed!"

"Killed?" Hikari echoed, drawn in by the dramatic beginning to this story. "What happened?"

"It's nothing, really," Miyako mumbled, suddenly feeling shy now that all attention was upon her.

"I don't understand," Taichi said. "Your life was in danger?"

"We were in the marketplace," she elaborated, "and a stranger saved me from a wayward arrow."

"A _wayward_ arrow?" Daisuke echoed, questioning the word.

"It wasn't wayward," Sora corrected. "It had been aimed for you. He thought so, too."

"He?" Taichi echoed.

"The stranger who saved me," Miyako replied. "I had never seen him before, but he…he caught the arrow in the air before it could hit me."

"That's pretty impressive," Daisuke noted. "Catching an arrow in midair."

"It's not something I'd want to have to practice, that's for sure," Sora commented. "I have enough trouble with shooting." While they had been talking, she took a bow from its resting place upon the fence, and an arrow from the container beside it. Sora now raised her weapon. "Observe how awful I am," she said, and fired the first arrow.

All eyes turned toward her as her shot landed, far from the bull's eye.

"That's not awful," Hikari replied. "You hit the target!"

"Nor was it good," Sora returned. She turned toward the others. "I'm sure you could all do much better than I."

No one outright admitted to this, and so she passed the bow toward Daisuke. "Go ahead. You will beat me, I'm sure."

He shrugged, but did not disagree as he stepped up to the mark and fired the arrow. It was not in the dead center of the target, but it was certainly far closer than the one Sora had fired.

"How would you get to be able to catch an arrow, anyway?" Hikari wondered. "It seems like you would have to get it right on the first try, or else it would be too late."

Taichi stepped forward and took the bow from Daisuke. "It seems like a rare skill," he agreed. "Tell me more about the one who saved you."

"He didn't give his name," Miyako recalled. "He said he couldn't. He was dressed all in black and wore a mask. He was gone a few minutes later, after he warned me to be careful."

Taichi frowned in thought as he sighted the target. There was silence as the others waited for him to shoot. At long last, he released the arrow, and it flew straight forward and landed in the dead center of the target.

"See?" Sora said as the group broke into applause. " _That's_ good."

The prince was still frowning in thought as he passed the bow to his sister. "It sounds familiar," he noted. "Like something I've heard before."

"You mean you've heard of him before?" Miyako wondered.

"I think I might have," he replied.

There was a few moments of silence then as Hikari and then Miyako shot arrows into the target, also quite far from the bull's eye. Miyako passed the bow then to Ken, who met her eyes as he took it from her, then walked past her toward the mark.

He spent little time aiming, but simply fired the arrow, and it landed directly in the center of the target, right beside the one that Taichi had fired. Again, the group broke into applause, and Ken nodded in silent, modest acknowledgment.

"Well," Sora said, "now that we've had time to practice, let's begin that contest. We ought to remove those arrows, first."

"I'll get them," Daisuke volunteered, and climbed over the small fence between the archers and their targets in order to pull out the arrows. At the same time, Sora began to hand out bows to each of those present.

"The Dark Bandit," Taichi said then in the silence, apparently unrelated to the rest of the conversation.

"Yes!" Miyako said immediately. "He said that his enemies referred to him that way. Do you know who he is?"

"I know _of_ him," Taichi replied, "but nothing of his true identity, if that's what you're asking."

"What do you know of him?" Sora asked.

"Not much," he admitted. "There have been reports of him coming in from different parts of the kingdom. He's freed a few dangerous criminals, but he's also saved a few people's lives. Therefore, no one is quite certain of his intentions."

"Perhaps there is a meaning behind his actions that you haven't yet deciphered," Ken offered as Sora handed him a bow.

"That seems most likely to be the case," the prince agreed. "As no one has had much of a conversation with him, it's impossible to know for certain."

"Maybe he knew the criminals, and didn't think they should be imprisoned," Miyako suggested.

"Also a possibility," Taichi agreed with a shrug. "Otherwise, it seems rather contrary to both free criminals and save other people's lives."

Daisuke had by this point returned with the arrows, and he now began to pass them out to the others. They then all moved into position, so that each person had his or her own target.

There were only two arrows which hit the target in the center; the one Taichi had fired, and the one that Ken had shot.

"Well," Sora said with a sigh. "That was rather short. Shall we start again?"

"No," Taichi said, holding up a hand. "Let us go again." He turned toward Ken, who unexpectedly nodded.

"Again?" Hikari echoed. "Why? It's obviously over."

"No," he replied, "it's obviously a tie, and so there must be a tiebreaker. We go again."

Daisuke once more climbed over the fence and retrieved the arrows, returning to give them to the two remaining competitors. As he handed half to Ken, he said, quietly, "Be careful."

Ken made no indication that he had heard or not, but took the arrows and notched the first one into his bow. At Sora's command, both bows fired again.

Miyako and Hikari leaned upon the fence and watched as arrow after arrow fired into the target and arrow after arrow hit the center. After the seventeenth try, Daisuke sat down upon the fence beside them.

"Has he always been so good at archery?" Hikari asked him, gesturing toward Ken.

"He's been practicing," he replied with a sigh. "Endlessly, it sometimes seems. This may last a while."

"How long a while?" Miyako asked.

"Well, Taichi doesn't practice _endlessly_ ," Hikari replied. "So maybe he will be defeated quickly."

"Somehow, I do not think that will happen," Daisuke answered with another sigh.

They had fired some thirty arrows when the digimon, who had wandered off to pursue their own activities for a time, returned to the archery range to observe the contest. V-mon sat down near his partner and questioned when lunch would come.

"At this rate, not until midnight," Daisuke replied pessimistically.

Another twenty arrows were fired, and the stomachs of more than one of the spectators had begun to growl. Daisuke got to his feet and went to Ken as he was between arrows.

"Can you not concede defeat?" he asked. "The rest of us are hungry."

"No one said you had to stay and watch," Ken replied.

In a quieter voice he said, "Are you sure this is a wise idea?"

Ken said nothing, merely turned to face his friend, narrowing his eyes. Daisuke argued no further, and went back to sit beside the girls.

"He happens to have a stubborn streak, it seems," he informed them.

At long last, on the seventy third arrow, exhaustion and hunger contributed to an imperfect aim and an unsteady arm, and Taichi missed the bull's eye by a tiny fraction.

A tense moment of silence followed. For a long moment, Taichi stared toward the target, frowning. The spectators could see that he had clenched his fist and then unclenched it in frustration.

"Should we be worried?" Hawkmon asked of his partner, who had no idea.

At long last, the two competitors turned to face each other. Taichi stepped forward and held out his hand. "Good job," he said in congratulations. The two shook hands.

"Thank you," Ken replied. "I had a worthy opponent."

There was a small but well-furnished parlor which separated the bedrooms. Dressed already in his nightclothes, Daisuke paced back and forth between the overstuffed armchairs and the large couch. "Worthy opponent," he mumbled under his breath, and then, in a louder voice, called out, "How have you not gotten us both killed?"

Ken stepped into the parlor. Again, he had changed into his usual all-black outfit. "I fail to see how winning an archery tournament would lead to either of our deaths," he replied calmly. "The Prince is a good loser. It's his father we are uncertain of, remember?"

Daisuke sighed in frustration and sat down upon the couch. "You're going out again," he stated, having already noticed the clothes. "Why?"

The other shrugged. "There's work to be done," he reminded him. "Last night's excursion yielded no useful information."

"Last night's excursion left you exhausted," Daisuke pointed out. "I noticed you yawning all through lunch. How much longer can you survive on two or three hours of sleep?"

"As long as I need to," Ken replied.

"Why exactly are we so worried about Miyako, anyway? I don't understand how that fits into our mission of protesting the King's injustices." When Ken looked toward him with an exasperated expression, he added, "Your words, not mine, remember?"

"If the King is responsible for her danger, it's related."

"And what proof do we have of that?" Daisuke asked. He got to his feet once more, raised one hand as though he had come to some great conclusion. "None! You're falling for her."

"Of course not," Ken replied immediately, setting the wide-brimmed hat atop his head. "I am doing good the way that I am supposed to."

Daisuke was not completely convinced, but he said nothing further, simply shrugged skeptically.

"I wish you wouldn't go without me," Wormmon said then. "What if there's trouble?"

"Don't worry," Ken told him as he tied the mask over his eyes. "I will be safe. If you come with me, we'll be recognized. I know how to be careful."

Wormmon nodded. He understood, but was not happy.

The night was warm and pleasant, with nary a cloud in the spring sky. A gentle breeze occasionally blew, and the stars overhead shined brightly in the darkness.

"The stars are beautiful," Miyako commented, peering up at the sky.

She was standing upon a balcony of some undefined sitting room in the upper levels of the palace. Promising that this one held the best view of the grounds, Hikari had led her to this place, and it was no disappointment.

"You can see almost everything from here, too," Hikari said. She pointed out into the distance. "The Monochromon enclosure is over there, and the greenhouse is over in that direction."

"There are plants in there?" Hawkmon questioned from his perch on the railing.

"Beautiful, rare plants," Hikari replied. "With the sweetest smells. We should go tomorrow, in the daylight."

"Alraumon and Palmon like to go there often," Tailmon reported. Like Hawkmon, she was perched upon the railing beside her partner, looking for all the world as though she was simply comfortably napping.

"It sounds very nice," Miyako commented, and for a few moments they stood in silence, peering out at the world.

"I'm glad you've come here, Miyako," Hikari said then. "It's nice to have someone around my own age that I can talk to."

"I'm glad I came," Miyako replied. "My mother wasn't quite sure it would be a wise idea after what happened in the marketplace."

"I wonder if I could ask you something," Hikari went on. "I have been thinking about the future."

"The future?" Miyako echoed, and the princess nodded.

"It's likely only because of my birthday coming, but each day I feel older, and I wonder about what's to come in the future. You know…marriage, and all of that."

"Do you have someone in particular in mind?" Miyako wondered.

"I confess there are several possibilities," Hikari admitted. "None of which I perceive to be the perfect choice. I am not quite sure how to make such a decision."

"My sisters are all married," Miyako said after a moment of thought. "Momoe was barely fifteen when she was wed. She said she was in love, and that's how she knew, and so there was no point to waiting any longer."

"Fifteen?" Hikari repeated. "Oh my, now I feel even older."

"I have lately heard, however, that she is not so blissfully happy as she might be. I wonder if she was wrong about what she thought she felt."

"Is it possible to be wrong about such a thing?" Hikari wondered.

Miyako shrugged. "I don't know," she replied. "I have never been in love, but I think I will make sure that I am before I agree to marry."

"I think I will, too," Hikari agreed.

For a long moment, there was silence, and then Miyako said, "I have heard a few stories, about your twelfth birthday party, and others like them…."

"Oh, there are many stories like that," Hikari said with a sigh.

"They don't fight over you any longer?"

"Not so dramatically," the princess replied, "but I think they still rival one another. There was a time my father declared to me that I must choose one or the other, simply because everyone was tired of the fighting." She shook her head in amusement, laughing quietly to herself at the recollection. "I believe that was shortly after my twelfth birthday."

"Did you choose one?" Miyako asked.

"No," she replied, "and I'm glad I didn't, because twelve is even younger than fifteen. My mother talked some sense into my father. I believe someone probably talked to both of them, too. Perhaps threatened, even. After that, they stopped fighting so much."

"Well, that's a relief," Miyako said, and then yawned. "Sorry. I suppose I am tired."

"So I see," Hikari noted with a slight smile. "Go on and get some sleep then. I think I will soon, too."

"I think I should," the other agreed. "Good night, princess."

As she turned to leave, Hikari called after. "Miyako, thanks for the advice. And please, if you don't mind, call me Hikari."

For a moment, Miyako seemed not to know how to respond to this, and then she smiled. "Certainly," she replied. "Good night, Hikari."

Far above the balcony, perched on the roof, a lone figure watched as Miyako reentered the building, closely followed by Hawkmon. After a moment or two, Tailmon also leapt down from the ledge and followed after.

Hikari turned from her survey of the lands below. "You can come down now," she said, and the dark figure froze, unmoving.

"There's no point to hiding," Hikari went on. "I know you are there, and I know you've been watching. If you don't come down voluntarily and talk to me, I'll get Tailmon to bring you by force."

There was a brief gust of wind, and a quiet thud as the Bandit leapt from his perch to the railing of the balcony. He then dropped to his knees. "How may I assist you, Princess?" he questioned in a low voice.

"You can tell me what interest you have in Miyako," she replied.

"Her best interests, your highness," he replied. "An attempt was made upon her life. Since the attempted assassin has not been found, it is logical to assume she is still in danger."

"And you have taken it upon yourself to protect her?"

"I have."

"Have you any idea who it is who wishes to harm her?"

"Very little, your highness," he answered. "I was not able to determine the shooter's identity in Takenouchi-Inoue, but I believe he will try again, and I believe she _is_ the intended target."

"I don't suppose you'd like to confess your own identity," she said after a moment of consideration.

"Apologies, Princess, but I cannot," he replied.

"What reasons do we have to trust you?" she asked. "To trust that you speak the truth about your motivations? To trust that you will harm neither Miyako nor any others?"

"None, your highness," he said. "Only that I offer my word. I have made no attempt to harm you, and I will make no such attempt upon any who is innocent."

Again she did not speak for a moment, but stepped forward and closed the space between them. She reached out with one hand and gently used one finger to lift his chin so that she could look into his eyes. For another long moment, there was only silence. "I have your word," Hikari said finally. "That you will not harm Miyako."

"That I will do all I can to protect her," the Dark Bandit replied immediately.

"Then you have my word that I will not hinder your mission," she said with a nod, and took a step back. Now it was the Bandit who did not speak for a long moment, but merely stared in surprise.

"Hikari?" called a voice from the inside.

"That's my brother," Hikari realized, turning toward the building. "You'd better…."

But he was already gone.


	3. A Battle

THREE: A BATTLE

Daisuke and V-mon were engaged in a friendly game of cards when Ken returned to the suite, slipping into the parlor from the open window. He removed his hat and mask immediately, and looked up to see that the others were looking at him with confused expressions.

"Back already?" Daisuke wondered.

"Is everything all right?" Wormmon asked. He had been acting as audience and occasional referee in the game, sitting on the edge of the small table.

"I had an interesting conversation just now," Ken reported.

"Conversation? With whom?"

"The Princess."

Daisuke set down his cards. "Hikari?" he echoed. "Why - ?"

"I know of no other Princess," Ken replied, which only caused Daisuke to frown in his direction, not amused.

"We're doomed, aren't we?" V-mon asked.

"Probably," Daisuke agreed. "Why on earth did you talk to her?"

"I didn't have much of a choice," Ken answered. He turned to enter his bedchamber, pulling off his tunic as he went.

"So you were cornered, then?" Daisuke called, getting to his feet. "What happened to being careful?"

"I wasn't cornered," Ken returned from the other room. "She asked to speak with me. I didn't have much of a choice in the matter. There were no weapons involved."

"She _asked_?" Daisuke echoed. He began to pace anxiously.

"What did you talk about?" Wormmon wondered.

"To be precise," Ken replied, emerging once more with a nightshirt in his hands, which he began to pull over his head, "she told me if I didn't talk with her willingly, she'd make a scene, which I didn't really think I wanted to risk. She wanted to know my intentions regarding Miyako."

"Your intentions?" Daisuke repeated.

"Do you say anything new, or do you simply repeat what I say?"

Daisuke frowned more intensely. "What did you tell her?" V-mon asked.

"That I was interested in protecting Miyako," he replied. "She didn't question me about any other activities. She said that she would do nothing to hinder the mission."

Daisuke sat down once more, this time on the nearest armchair. "You allied yourself with the Princess," he concluded. "She allied herself with you. Why – have you both lost your minds?"

Ken shrugged. "Are you implying that the Princess is insane?" he asked.

"I'm starting to think it," he confessed. "I know _you_ are."

The next morning, the group of guests arriving grew even larger. Miyako followed Sora to the gardens to find that, in addition to the crowd that had been present the day before, there were also two newcomers: the oft-mentioned Takeru, rival of Daisuke, and his older brother Yamato. The younger of the brothers had a long-eared digimon called Patamon who seemed to use his partner's head as his usual spot of rest, and Yamato was partnered with a furry blue and white striped Gabumon, who immediately wandered off somewhere with Agumon for a bit of mischief.

A number of small conversations were happening at the same time, some in low, hushed voices, and some in louder tones. Daisuke and his sister were conversing with some urgency on the state of their mother's health.

"If it's only a cold, then why are you so anxious to go and see her?" he asked. "She'll recover in a day or two."

"Because this is the sixth cold she's had this year, if you haven't noticed," Jun replied. "Each time, they are worse. I _am_ a bit worried."

"She was fine when we left home," Daisuke recalled. "How bad can it be?"

"Well, you don't have to come, then," she replied. "I only came out here to tell you that _I'm_ going to go and visit with her."

He fell silent, for what good response was there to that? "Tell her I will go and see her later today," he finally said. "It'll be better if we're not there at the same time."

"Well, I for one, was quite happy to get away and come here," Yamato was at the same time saying, speaking to both Ken and Taichi. "It's been practically unbearable with how much they have been fighting lately, over every little thing. If Mother returns to Takaishi for the summer yet again, things will get more peaceful."

"Doesn't she usually go for the winter?" Taichi asked.

"She does," Yamato replied, "and they're ordinarily quite pleasant for most of the spring and summer. This year, however, things are worse."

"No," Sora answered Takeru. "There's been no word from Mimi. So far as I know she is still coming, but she hasn't yet arrived. It's not like her. Usually she's here several days in advance."

"That is strange," he agreed. "I wonder if something has happened in Tachikawa that has delayed her."

"So," Taichi said when conversations had settled into a temporary lull, "I was thinking that we could today take a tour of the outer grounds, and then maybe have a picnic lunch. Near the greenhouse, there are some big trees that provide plenty of shade."

There was no objection to this plan, and so the group began to move, wandering through the gardens, past rows of beautiful spring flowers, past the enclosure where dozens of Monochromon grazed, awaiting assignments as carriage-pullers. Along the outer edge, a stone wall defined the space between the castle grounds and the outside world, and a few gates were built into this structure. As they walked, Hikari pointed several interesting things out to Miyako, and general conversation continued amongst the group.

Finally, around noon, they reached the greenhouse, a small structure made almost entirely of glass. A few servants awaited with several baskets of food for consumption, and some blankets had been laid out upon the ground. It was not long before all were joined by their partners, some of whom had not come along on the trek.

"I don't look impressive," Patamon explained to Miyako, "but I'm quite loyal, and I'm quite useful for seeing things in the distance."

"By having such a high vantage point?" she wondered, for Takeru himself was rather tall.

"Yes, and by getting even higher," the digimon replied. Then, much to her surprise, he flapped his long ears and actually took to the air. It didn't seem to take as much effort as would seem to be required, for he went on hovering for a few moments before landing on the blanket beside his partner and taking a sandwich of his own.

"So they fired seventy-two arrows before the contest had finished," Sora told Yamato, a short distance away. "Seventy-two. I think it took nearly an hour."

"It wasn't quite an hour," Taichi disagreed.

"No," Daisuke agreed between bites of the ripe, juicy fruit, "I think it was more like _two_ hours."

"Seventy-two arrows?" Yamato echoed. "Is that not a bit excessive?"

Both Ken and Taichi both shrugged, as though they agreed with the statement but were not willing to admit it. "It was a very close match," Ken stated, and the Prince nodded in agreement.

"Well," Yamato said after a moment of thought in which he absently munched his sandwich, "we'll have to do it again. I'm pretty sure I could defeat both of you in far less than seventy-two shots."

"I don't think so," Taichi disagreed.

"I will bet," the other returned, "that I could beat you in one shot."

"Because you'd cheat," came the retort. "You always cheat."

"I have never cheated," Yamato replied indignantly. "I _would_ never cheat. I would beat you, honestly and fairly, on the first try."

The argument drew the attention of all others present, and in that same moment, Daisuke heard the voice of Ken in his ear, quietly whispering. "I'm going back. I have a bad feeling." He could barely be heard over the rising sounds of the argument.

"A bad feeling?" Daisuke echoed, and turned his head, but Ken had already vanished. Wormmon, he noted, was now in his lap, looking up at him with a confused expression.

"You couldn't hit a target with your fist if you were standing right next to it," Taichi said now, almost shouting.

"I'll prove that to you right now," Yamato retorted, and raised his arm. He rose up to his knees and set down his half-eaten sandwich.

"Oh, come now," Hikari said. "Don't fight."

"I should like to see you try!" Taichi retorted, getting to his feet and ignoring his sister.

"I will do more than try," his opponent retorted, completing his rise to his feet, "I will succeed!"

Before Yamato could act upon his threat, however, there was a soft whoosh of air and then a quiet thud as an arrow lodged itself into the nearest tree. For a moment, there was only silence as all present stared at the missile in shock.

After a moment, another arrow landed, this time right beside Yamato, barely a finger's width from him. "Arrows," he realized, moving backward, away from it. "Someone is shooting at us!"

Another arrow landed, very near to the first. "To shelter!" Taichi commanded, getting to his feet. "To the greenhouse!"

There was a flurry of activity as all present hurried to their feet and made their way to the greenhouse, even as several more arrows thudded into the grass and the picnic blankets. Miyako got up, and saw another arrow land quite near to her feet. Startled, she stepped backward, tripped over an inconveniently placed rock, and fell down in the soft grass.

"Get up," Daisuke said from behind her, and took hold of her hand to help her do just that. "Hurry!"

At that moment, a dark figure appeared a short distance away. He was dressed all in black, with a long, dark cloak and a large hood that shielded his entire face from the sun. Over his shoulder was a bow, and at his waist, a sword, which he now drew and raised. Miyako could hear her heart pounding in her ears. Daisuke wondered if his own had stopped.

"Run!" V-mon shouted, for he had somehow not stopped thinking at that moment. He half-pushed his partner forward. "Daisuke!"

"Right, right," Daisuke agreed. Still holding Miyako's hand, he took off at a run, heading for the greenhouse, and pulled her along behind him. He could hear the footsteps behind him coming closer.

They scrambled into the small glass building with only seconds to spare before a second figure appeared as though from nowhere, a weapon raised to block the progress of the first.

"The Dark Bandit," Sora breathed, much to the confusion of Yamato and Takeru, who had not yet heard the story.

"The who?" Yamato asked.

"The Dark Bandit," she replied. "He saved Miyako's life once before. He must have come to protect her again!"

"Which one is he?" Patamon asked.

"The one with the hat," Piyomon explained.

"Who's the other one?" Takeru asked. No one had an answer.

"Who are you?" the Dark Bandit demanded at almost the same moment that Takeru asked the question. "What do you want?"

"None of your concern," the stranger replied, and shifted his sword from one hand to the other.

"It is of my concern," the Bandit returned. "You're attacking innocents."

"You are standing in my way. Prepare to be eliminated," the stranger said, and ran forward, holding his blade out in front of him.

Daisuke briefly shut his eyes, wincing as the sound of metal upon metal clanked and echoed in the silence. "Swords," he mumbled. "Why did it have to be swords? He's not very skilled at swords."

"What was that?" Yamato wondered, having overheard this mumbling.

"Nothing," Daisuke replied. "I was just saying that I hate swords. A lot."

"Why?" V-mon asked, and Daisuke made a mental note to do something to cause injury to his partner later.

"They're sharp," he replied immediately, "…and I'm not particularly good at using them."

"You're not even fighting," Sora pointed out.

"Yeah, well they're still dangerous," he answered. "Someone's probably going to get hurt."

"That's often the result of fighting," Yamato pointed out dryly.

"This is ridiculous," Taichi said then. "We cannot simply sit here, cornered in a greenhouse, while they fight over us. There are more of us than them." He hefted a large, heavy shovel. "Let us fight back."

"Agreed!" Yamato replied, and drew a sword that he was wearing at his waist. He took a step toward the door.

"Are you crazy?" Hikari asked of her brother. "You'll get hurt!"

"Why exactly did you bring a sword along on a picnic?" Takeru asked his own sibling. "Were you expecting danger?"

"Never allow yourself to be caught unarmed," the elder brother replied seriously. "One never knows what might happen."

As he could think of no response to this which would not lead to a rather long argument, Takeru simply fell silent with a sigh of exasperation.

"A very wise sentiment," Taichi said in agreement (their earlier argument apparently forgotten), and hefted his shovel. "Who's with me?"

"Go on," Yamato said to his brother, and passed him another shovel. "Help out, even if you didn't bring a weapon."

Takeru hesitated, but took the shovel with a shrug, reasoning that the fight was not likely to involve him very much at all. Outside, the sounds of swords clanking could be heard as the battle between the Dark Bandit and the other dark stranger continued.

It did not appear as though the Bandit was well matched with his opponent. He had not managed to attack the stranger even once, and had barely deflected and dodged the swinging blade.

"Here," Yamato said, handing Daisuke a shovel as well, distracting him from the battle, which he had until that point been watching intently. "Swing this around. It's slightly less pointy than a sword."

Daisuke took the tool in one hand, for he was still holding Wormmon in the other, and experimentally hefted its weight.

"What happened to Ken?" Takeru questioned, seeing Wormmon.

"He went inside," Daisuke replied, thinking quickly. "Wasn't feeling well." He turned, passed Wormmon to Miyako, as she was standing nearest to him. Without protest or comment, she took the small digimon from him, but he noted an odd expression in her eyes.

The battle had been going on for some time now, and the exertion was taking its toll on the Dark Bandit, though not upon his opponent, who was still swinging his weapon without difficulty. It was all the Bandit could do to keep the other's sword from making contact with his own body.

He stumbled now, his tired legs giving out as he slipped on the uneven ground and dropped to his knees. The sword of his enemy continued to come down.

The sound of shouting interrupted the stranger's attack, and his sword now merely glanced off the shoulder of the Bandit rather than slicing cleanly through his arm. The pain was enough to cause him to cry out in pain, however, and for a bit of blood to spurt through and trickle down his arm.

The stranger was gone in an instant, and the shouting abruptly halted. Looking up from his wound, the Bandit noticed that the rushing crowd abruptly halted, as though now uncertain of what to do. With somewhat shaky feet, he got up, and then hurried across the grounds.

"Should we follow?" Yamato wondered. For a long moment, the question hung in the air.

"I suppose not," Taichi said with a sigh, setting the blade of his shovel into the ground. "They stopped fighting, and the danger is over, isn't it?"

"So it seems," Yamato agreed.

The bleeding, Ken noted, had at last come to a halt. The pain in his arm, however, had not, and had been joined by a pain growing in his head. He pressed the wet cloth once more against his bare skin and sank into bed, hoping that he would not be disturbed.

"That was possibly the stupidest thing I've ever done," he mumbled to himself. "Sword fighting."

There was then a knock upon the door, abruptly cutting short his rest. With a sigh, Ken once more got to his feet, and pulled a tunic over his head, hoping to hide the evidence of his battle.

Daisuke and Miyako stood outside the door, V-mon and Hawkmon near their feet. Miyako was holding Wormmon in her arms, and Daisuke was attempting to look bored and uninterested.

"I…thought I'd bring back your partner," Miyako said, and held out the small caterpillar. "It was kind of mean of you to leave him behind."

"No, no," Wormmon disagreed immediately. "I told him to go!"

"There's no need to defend me," Ken told his partner. Turning toward Miyako, he said, "I apologize for my abrupt departure. I was getting headache and wanted to rest without interrupting anyone else's fun."

She said nothing for a long moment, and then nodded. "I'm glad to hear you are all right," she finally replied. "Sorry to intrude."

With that, she was gone. Daisuke frowned as he watched her turn the corner, and then followed Ken and Wormmon into the bedroom. Almost immediately, Ken set down his partner on the bed, and removed his shirt.

"How bad is it?" Daisuke asked.

Despite his previous thoughts, the bleeding had begun once more, perhaps caused by moving about, dressing, and undressing. Ken once more reached for the semi-clean cloth and pressed it against the wound.

"Could be worse," he replied optimistically. "I think that was the worst fight I've ever been in. I should have practiced more."

"You haven't been in many fights," Daisuke reminded him. "Most of your previous adventures involved more stealth. Let me see it."

Reluctantly, Ken removed the cloth, and Daisuke stepped forward to examine it more closely. "She suspects, doesn't she?"

"I'd have to think she'd be an idiot not to," he replied. "What did you do with that box of healing supplies?"

"It's in the trunk somewhere," Ken answered, waving one hand toward the foot of the bed, where the trunk with all his possessions rested. He sighed and sat down again. "Does it look bad?"

"It could be worse," Daisuke answered optimistically. "It would be really nice if an _actual_ doctor could look at this."

"Yeah, _that's_ a good idea," the other said with a sigh. "How exactly would I explain something like that?"

There was no good answer to this question, and so Daisuke didn't bother attempting to come up with one. He left the room, searching for a bit of clean water and a fresh cloth. Wormmon snuggled up to his partner and rested his head in his lap.

"Are you sure you're all right?" he asked.

"It hurts," Ken admitted, "but I think I'll live."

"Assuming Daisuke doesn't use the wrong thing," V-mon added. He'd climbed up onto the bed and was now examining the small bottles and jars neatly lined up in the box. He took one out in particular and studied it. "What are these supposed to do, anyway?"

"Don't mess with them!" Daisuke scolded his partner, returning with a small bowl of water and a few clean cloths. "I put them in order so I wouldn't get them confused."

"Sorry," V-mon replied with very little sincerity, and replaced the small jar.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Ken asked.

"I'm sure," Daisuke replied with the voice of confidence. "I've got everything we need right here. There's some bandages, and there's some healing salves, and there's some other things for to curing poisons."

"Poisons?" he echoed. "How would I get poisoned?"

"I don't know," came the answer, with a shrug. "It could happen. Now, I'll just put a bit of this on the wound, bandage it up, and, if we're lucky, no one will notice it."

Ken winced slightly as the salve was applied, producing a slight stinging sensation. "Are you sure it's supposed to hurt?"

"That means it's working," Daisuke replied in a very optimistic tone, which did not do much to help Ken's growing headache. "You should _try_ to stay off of it for a few days and give it a chance to heal."

Perhaps it was due to the pain, but Ken didn't react particularly well to that statement. He narrowed his eyes in a threatening manner. "I can't stay off it," he replied, "I have a mission."

Daisuke sighed, knowing better than to argue. He tied the bandage tightly. "To protect Miyako?" he wondered.

"Among other things."

Saying nothing, Daisuke replaced the jar of salve, shut the box, and then set the box back where it had come from, in the trunk at the foot of the bed. Groaning quietly, Ken laid down on the bed again and shut his eyes.

"Are you sure you're not…," Daisuke began after a moment.

"I am sure I am not," he replied before the question could even be finished. "Go away and let me rest for a while."

"You want me to wake you for dinner?"

"Yeah, all right."

Daisuke nodded toward his partner, who obediently climbed down from the bed and followed after him. The two passed through the door between the rooms, and then Daisuke turned to close it.

"Daisuke," Ken said, without opening his eyes. "Thanks for helping me."

"It's what friends are for," he answered with a shrug, and shut the door.

As the sun set over the grounds of the palace, the air grew cooler and the sky darker. Upon a quiet, unused balcony, three young ladies stood and watched as the bright colors faded. Overhead, Piyomon and Hawkmon were both enjoying an evening flight in the gentle breezes.

"If it was the same attacker, how did he get inside the grounds of the palace without being noticed?" Hikari asked. "I can't imagine that's an easy thing to do."

"I can't imagine either," Sora agreed.

"Why do you say that?" Miyako wondered.

"Well, there's a wall," Hikari replied, pointing toward the distant structure, "which separates the grounds from the rest of the world. It's very tall, so that discourages anyone from entering accidentally."

"There are gates," Sora added, "where there should always be armed guards stationed."

"Earlier today, when they were leaving, both the Dark Bandit and the other guy climbed _over_ the wall," Miyako recalled.

"That would explain how they got in, too, wouldn't it?" Tailmon suggested sensibly from where she sat along the railing. She squinted out over the grounds. "It doesn't seem to difficult to climb."

"Not for you, maybe," Hikari said, "but for humans, I would think it would be a bit harder."

Miyako yawned wide as both the flying digimon overhead soared toward their partners to land upon the railing of the balcony. "I agree with you," Hawkmon said to his partner. "I am about ready for sleep."

"Well," she replied, yawning again, "let's go, then."

"It has been an exhausting day," Piyomon agreed, hopping down from the balcony. "Come on, Sora, let's get some rest."

"Actually, Sora," Hikari said as they turned to leave, "I wonder if I could ask you something?"

Sora paused, halfway into the building. She turned back. "Of course. Go on ahead," she said then, to Miyako, Hawkmon, and Piyomon. "I'll be along in a minute."

When the balcony was empty, Hikari stepped away from the wall and sat down on a small bench. "I had a conversation last night," she said after a bit of thought, "with the Dark Bandit."

"The – the Dark Bandit?" Sora echoed. For a moment, she merely stared, and then, regaining the power of speech, she said, "I don't suppose…."

"I've told no one," Hikari said. "And I still haven't a clue to his identity."

"You are treading upon dangerous ground," Sora noted.

"I know," the princess replied, "but I believe he's genuine in his desire to protect Miyako, and I believe he's right to try."

"After today, I think I agree, too," Sora admitted. "So now, what do we do?"

"I think we should try to make certain that Miyako is never alone," Hikari stated, "but we should be discreet about it."

Sora considered for a moment, and then nodded agreement. "Consider it done," she replied. "Has the Dark Bandit any clue to who is behind this?"

"If he does, he hasn't shared his thoughts. I think if he did know anything, he'd do something about it."

"Would he tell us?" Sora wondered, "or would he carry out his own justice?"

"I don't know," Hikari admitted.

Returning to the bedroom after a luxurious bath, Miyako felt a cool breeze blow. There was a pair of large glass doors leading out to a small balcony, and they were open.

She hadn't left them open.

Hawkmon was asleep at the foot of the bed, his usual spot. There was likely no danger here. Nonetheless, Miyako felt a brief shiver of fear run down her spine as she stepped toward the doors. Beyond, the clear night was filled with bright stars and distant moonlight. Most of the small balcony was visible and empty.

There was, however, a dark figure standing directly opposite the doors. He wore a wide-brimmed hat with a purple sash tied around it and a mask which obscured all but his piercing blue eyes. The rest of his outfit was entirely black, so that he was like a shadow against the black of night.

"I was hoping you'd be awake," he said in a casual tone. His voice was soft and quiet, soft as the wind whispering through the trees.

"You…," Miyako said, her voice like a breath of air. "You were hurt."

"There is no need to worry over me, milady," he replied, gently shaking his head. "The injury is not serious. Your life is in far more danger than mine."

"If you're to protect me, you are also in danger," she replied sensibly. " _Why_ do you protect me?"

"Because you need it," he answered simply.

"Why do I need it, though?" she asked. "I haven't done anything to anger anyone. Who is that man?"

"I know nothing of him," the Bandit replied, "save that he is a worthy adversary and a poor conversationalist. I had hoped you might have some clue to his motivations."

"No," Miyako said with a sigh. "I haven't any idea. To be honest, I don't know many people at all, and certainly none who might be determined to cause me harm." Thoughtfully, she stared out into the distance without seeing anything. "As for my parents, they have lived peacefully since before I was born. As far as I know, they haven't…."

She turned her head to see that her visitor had already departed. The balcony was empty. Where he had gone, she did not know, but there was now no sign of him. With another sigh, she went back into the bedroom, shutting the doors behind her.


	4. Daisuke Complicates

FOUR: Daisuke Complicates Things

Wormmon was quite happy when his partner returned through the veranda doors. "You've returned!" he greeted cheerfully.

"So I have," Ken replied as he removed the mask and hat, and then shed his tunic. "It's very quiet," he noted. "Daisuke still hasn't returned?"

The caterpillar shook his head. "No," he replied. "So far as I know, both he and Jun went to see their mother, and haven't yet returned."

"I hope she's not too sick." As he changed his clothes, Ken let his thoughts wander toward Lady Motomiya and her illness. Though it was never spoken of, he had wondered often if she was weaker than she let on. A number of what the doctors referred to as colds had increased over the last few years.

There was a knock on the door just as he finished dressing, and was considering whether or not to simply climb into bed. Though his injury did not pain him so greatly now as it had earlier in the day, there was still a dull ache, and he had not slept enough lately.

Jun stood on the opposite side of the door. She was absently rubbing her hands back and forth between each other, wiggling her fingers and studying them as though they were quite interesting. When he opened the door, she immediately lowered them, as though they held some incriminating evidence.

"I hope you're not busy," she said, "with important things."

"I might be," Ken replied evasively, shrugging.

"Well, Mother has asked to see you. If you could make the time."

"To see _me_?" he echoed blankly, for he could think of no reason why Lady Motomiya might wish to speak to him. Although the family had always been kind enough to him, to allow him to stay with them for quite extended periods of time, Ken had never spoken much with either the Lord or Lady.

"So she says," Jun replied, shrugging. "She didn't tell me why, so don't bother asking. Shall I tell her you are busy?"

"No," Ken replied immediately. Wormmon was already at his feet, ready to depart. It was rarely a wise choice to refuse the request of one's benefactor. "I will come now."

And so he followed Jun through the palace corridors, toward the rooms which the Lord and Lady Motomiya had been given for their stay. A number of other people, mostly married couples, had rooms within this corridor. In the early evening, the sounds of quiet conversations could be heard from behind some of the doors.

Jun tapped once on her parents' door, and then opened it and stepped inside. Ken followed.

The Lady herself was lying in the bed, looking far more pale than Ken had expected. At the sound of the door opening, Daisuke, who had been sitting beside the bed, got to his feet. He nodded briefly toward the others in the room, and then left. Jun followed after her brother, and so Ken was alone with Lady Motomiya.

"You wished to see me?" he asked, stepping into the room.

"I did," she replied. Her voice sounded slightly weak and a bit hoarse. She was propped up on a pile of fluffy pillows. A glass of water and a mug of tea were upon the nightstand beside her. "I'm glad you came."

Ken took another few steps into the room. "Of course, milady."

"I wanted to tell you, in case I didn't have another chance to, that you are like one of my own children, Ken. I don't know that I've ever told you that before."

For a long moment, Ken merely stared in silence, and then he recovered both his voice and his manners. "I thank you for taking me in, milady. I apologize if I have been a burden to you."

"No, no," she replied, and then paused to cough. It was a delicate, but hoarse cough. With one hand, she beckoned him to come closer, and so he walked around to sit in the chair that Daisuke had vacated. With the same hand, Lady Motomiya then took hold of his hand. When she could speak again, she said, "You have been anything but a burden, Ken," she said, her voice now a mere whisper. "I am sorry for all that has happened to you. Know that you will always be welcome in Motomiya."

Ken stumbled over his words for a moment before he was able to say, "Thank you. I am grateful for your hospitality. Please, tell me if there is any way I can repay you."

She smiled, a weak and almost sad smile. "There is one thing," she said, and then once more began to cough. Ken took the glass of water from the nightstand and held it steady while she drank.

"Anything you wish," he said.

"Watch after him," she said, her voice a bit clearer now. "Watch after Daisuke."

He blinked, startled. "Watch after him?" he echoed.

She nodded, and sighed. "You may not know this," the Lady explained, "but my son is very impulsive. He will rush headlong into danger if someone does not hold him back."

"Daisuke?" Ken asked. " _Daisuke_ will rush into danger?"

"I am dying," Lady Motomiya said then, once more startling him. "It may not be very soon, but it will come before long. Daisuke will blame himself, and he will try to carry the burden of grief for the whole family. You must protect him."

She began once more to cough, and Ken once more held the water for her to drink while he pondered her words. "I will protect him," he said finally. "I promise you."

Daisuke was seated in one of the overstuffed armchairs that were scattered in the small parlor. He had opened a book and set it on his lap, but showed no sign of having read more than a few words when Ken returned, for he was instead staring out into space. It appeared almost as though his eyes were red, though in the dim candlelight it was hard to see clearly. He looked up at the sound of the door shutting.

"How are you doing?" Ken asked. A shrug was the only response. After a moment, he crossed the room and stood in front of the chair.

"I'm fine," Daisuke answered, frowning at him. "You're blocking the light."

For a long moment, there was silence. Ken said nothing, only peered down at him, and Daisuke went back to pretending to read the book, even though it was quite a bit more difficult now.

"You can tell me things, you know," he said.

"Tell you what things?" he asked. "You're the one who keeps secrets, remember?"

Ken shrugged, stepped back, and sat in another armchair a short distance away. "You're keeping as many secrets as I am," he reminded him. "Maybe more."

Daisuke said nothing to this.

"Speaking of secrets," Ken went on after a moment, "I wonder if Miyako is keeping one, or if one is being kept from her?"

"Well, you're keeping one, aren't you?" Daisuke replied dryly.

"I was thinking that maybe her clueless state in Takenouchi-Inoue was caused by the surprise of the situation," he continued, ignoring the comment, "but further questioning has revealed that her ignorance is apparently genuine."

"Further questioning?" Daisuke echoed. "You spoke to her about it?"

"Not I," Ken replied, gesturing toward himself, "but the Dark Bandit. She still maintains to have no idea about who might wish her dead, or why."

Daisuke sighed, for he hadn't the energy at the moment for an argument. "What happened to resting?"

"I slept until dinner," he answered waving a dismissive hand. "That was a good two hours."

Daisuke merely frowned toward him. V-mon, who had been lying upon another of the armchairs, said, "Maybe it's not about her. Maybe her parents angered someone."

"She also claims to have no knowledge of that," Ken replied. "It's possible that they've made enemies she's not aware of."

"Considering how much she's not aware of, that would be a strong possibility," Daisuke commented. "In any case, the enemy is becoming bolder, coming on the palace grounds to attack. He also attacked a group," he realized, "which means he might not particularly care if he hurts someone _else_."

"Which means anyone who's around her is in danger," V-mon noted.

"Yeah," Ken mumbled.

"So maybe we should all take Yamato's advice," Daisuke theorized, not particularly seriously, "and never be caught unarmed."

"There's an idea!" Ken said then with sudden energy, startling the others.

"An idea?"

"Yes. Listen, you have a ceremonial sword, don't you?"

"Yes…," Daisuke replied hesitantly. "Ceremonial, but still sharp. You think I should wear it?"

"To the party, yes," Ken replied. "Tomorrow night, there's likely to be dancing at the dinner, and everyone will be dressed formally. It won't stand out if you wear a ceremonial sword, and you'll be able to defend in an instant."

"You want me to wear a sword to a _party_?"

"Well it's not as though I could not go," Ken pointed out. "I would be missed too much, and it would be too obvious if I was missing and the Dark Bandit was there."

Daisuke sighed. "I'm not particularly good at sword fighting."

"You're better than I am," came the reply. "Come on, you'll be useful. You're always complaining about not being useful."

"When have I ever complained about that?" Daisuke demanded. Ken only shrugged. With another sigh, Daisuke said, "All right, but I want you to promise me something."

"What's that?"

"Sleep!"

It was difficult to see clearly in the dark, but still possible to make out the flickering candlelight through the window of the bedroom Miyako used. From the roof, Daisuke could see no moving shadows within the room that might indicate an intruder.

"Why are we here again?" V-mon whispered.

"Someone needs to keep an eye on her," Daisuke replied in an equally quiet voice. He had strapped his sword on his waist and dressed in all black, hoping that the dark color would make him less visible, but had not bothered with a mask, as it made him feel silly.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Not really," Daisuke admitted. "Look, I'm not going to fight and get myself killed. If I see the assassin, I'll distract him while you run back and wake up Ken. With any luck, he'll get here in time to help out."

"And if he doesn't?"

"I don't know," he said in a slightly louder tone. "Look, it's a flawed plan, and I'm probably putting myself in danger. I admit it!"

V-mon sighed, and shrugged. "All right," he said, apparently content.

"Anyway, I don't think he'll show. The party begins tomorrow, so maybe he'll be here then. Right now," and he gestured toward the gardens below, where several armed men stood, chatting casually, "there are too many guards around."

"Well then, can't we go to bed?"

Daisuke shrugged. "Sleep here," he said. "I can't sleep anyway."

"I can't sleep on a roof," V-mon grumbled. "You'd do a better job sleeping if you laid down in a nice, soft bed."

Another shrug was the response. "Doubt it," he replied.

There was a long silence. Below, the guards slowly wandered off, their weapons clanking as they walked. A gentle breeze ruffled the curtains, and caused the light to flicker in the bedroom. Then, the candle went out.

"I'm not trying to get myself killed," Daisuke said, for he could accurately guess at what his partner was thinking. "I know it's not going to help. I'm just trying to help out by keeping an eye on her."

"Is that so?" another voice questioned. Daisuke felt a chill run down his spine. He didn't like the sound of that voice. Slowly, he turned his head to see who it was that was speaking.

Something hard slammed into the back of his head. For a moment, he thought he could see a bright white light, and then he saw nothing, and knew nothing else.

***

Abruptly, Ken sat up, a cold sweat running down his forehead. His heart was pounding steadily, and a dull but steady pain was beating in his head. Wormmon, sleeping beside him, was awakened by the movement. "Ken?" he asked sleepily.

For a moment, he merely sat, breathing heavily, and then he shoved aside the covers and swung his legs over the side of the bed. "There's trouble," he said, getting to his feet.

"Trouble?" Wormmon echoed blankly.

Ken was already pulling his nightshirt over his head. "I don't know exactly where or who or what or anything," he admitted, "but I know there's a problem."

He opened the trunk at the foot of his bed, rummaged for a moment, and then pulled on a black tunic. "We've go to go," he said.

Wormmon nodded, unwavering. He waited as his partner pulled on pants and boots, quickly tied the cloth mask around his eyes, and set the wide-brimmed hat upon his head. "Are you sure you want me to come?" the caterpillar questioned.

"Yes," Ken answered immediately. "I'll need your help."

***

The stranger was dressed all in black, a dark hood and cloak over his head to conceal any bit of his face and identity. He stood on the roof, over the boy he had just knocked unconscious with the hilt of his sword. Now, he sheathed his weapon and reached down.

An arrow glanced lightly off his arm, shot with perfect accuracy from across the roof. The intruder growled an otherworldly grumble of anger and rage and turned. A second arrow, shot as perfectly as the first, lodged itself in his arm, but he seemed unhindered by it. With his free arm, he removed the arrow and then unsheathed his weapon.

He ran, with inhuman speed, across the roof and reached the Dark Bandit before he could even attempt to notch another arrow. Tossing aside the bow, the Bandit quickly drew his own sword and managed to block the blow which came. It was almost too powerful for him to bear, and it was only with a strength born of pure anger that his arms did not bend.

"Do you think you will have better luck this time?" the stranger questioned, his low, deep voice a mocking sound. "Better luck than your friend?"

The Bandit allowed his eyes to briefly turn toward the unconscious form, some distance away. Wormmon was quietly, slowly crawling toward Daisuke and V-mon, hoping not to be seen. The stranger pulled his weapon back from where the blades had met, and then quickly swung it down once more.

With little room to spare, the Dark Bandit rolled aside. The blade dug deep into the wooden roof. While its owner attempted to pull it free, the Bandit got to his feet and raised his own weapon.

The blade came free of the wood with one powerful tug, and the stranger turned to block the blow his opponent delivered. With a single leap, he then jumped from the roof to a nearby tree.

"Your anger disrupts your focus," he commented from a thick branch, bowing in a mocking manner. "Perhaps another time."

Then, he was gone, before there could be any thought of pursuing him. Reluctantly, the Dark Bandit sheathed his weapon, and glanced quickly around to see if anyone had noticed the fight. Below, in the gardens, a handful of guards was still patrolling, amiably chatting amongst themselves, apparently oblivious to all that had occurred above them.

"Are you all right?" Wormmon asked as he approached.

Daisuke was lying face down upon the roof. A large bruise had appeared upon the back of his neck, already swelling and turning purple. Thankfully, there did not seem to be any blood, but the wound was undoubtedly serious nonetheless.

Wormmon had found V-mon, a short distance away, and brought him over. "Now what do we do?" he asked.

"He'll have to see a doctor," his partner replied immediately. "I cannot take care of him." He knelt upon the ground beside his friend and managed, somehow to scoop him into his arms.

"You're going to Jyou?" the caterpillar wondered. Ken shook his head.

"No," he replied. "I will take him to the princess."

It was past midnight, and the night was quiet. Hikari slept in a bed which was comfortably covered with pale pink and white pillows.

She was pulled into wakefulness by the sound of a tapping nearby, a gradual sound which slowly grew louder and did not cease. After some time, she opened her eyes and squinted into the dark of night.

"It's coming from the balcony," Tailmon mumbled grumpily, for she did not like to be awakened.

There was just enough moonlight to see a dark figure standing upon the balcony. In his arms, he was carrying another person. Hikari rolled from her bed and slowly made her way across the room. She opened the door, and then could make out the two of them more clearly.

"If you can, your highness," he said, "I beg you, please help him."

She stepped forward, and took V-mon from where he lay atop his partner. "Of course I will help him," Hikari replied immediately. She held open the balcony doors. "What has happened to him?"

"The enemy has struck," the Bandit stated simply as he entered.

"Struck Daisuke?" she questioned. "I don't understand…why?"

"I'm not sure," he replied hesitantly. "He was…trying to help me."

Hikari nodded as though she understood, and gestured toward the bed. "Set him here," she ordered, "and I will call for the doctor right away." As she spoke, she laid the small blue digimon down amongst the pillows and blankets, and then turned to light a candle beside the bed that had gone out long ago.

Once more, the Dark Bandit hesitated. "He is completely innocent," he said. "You must understand."

The candlelight flickered. Hikari set it down once more on the nightstand. "I understand," she answered immediately. "I give you my word, he will not be further harmed. Jyou is a skilled doctor, and he will see to it that Daisuke is well cared for."

With only slight reluctance, the Bandit obeyed, setting Daisuke upon the bed beside his partner.

Daisuke was quite pale, his skin nearly white. His breathing was steady, but ragged. In the candlelight, he looked far worse than he had in the moonlight, and in the moonlight, he had not looked well at all.

Hikari had lit another candle. "I promise you. I will take care of him."

The Dark Bandit slowly raised his eyes to meet hers. He took a deep breath, and nodded solemnly. "You have my eternal thanks, your highness," he said, and bowed. "If you will forgive me…."


	5. Betrayal

FIVE: Betrayal

Ken had slept little the last few nights, and even less when the quiet knock sounded. He pulled himself from bed and stumbled toward the door without thinking about his appearance. It was only after he saw the princess, standing in the hall, and the surprised and somewhat concerned expression on her face that he realized how awful he must look.

"Your headache has not improved?" she asked with some alarm, and he remembered then the excuse he had given to escape the picnic.

"Not really," he answered truthfully. "How can I help you, princess?"

"There has been an incident," she replied. "Daisuke was hurt, last night."

"Hurt?" Ken echoed blankly. "What do you mean?"

"So far as the doctor has been able to determine, he was hit on the back of the head with something, we don't know what. Daisuke doesn't seem to quite know what it was."

"How? When - ?"

Hikari sighed. "It's a complicated story, I suppose," she replied. "I think it's best if he tells it himself. He's asked to see you."

"No, no, it feels better," Daisuke was saying as Ken followed the princess into her bedroom a short time later. He was sitting in her bed, head wrapped in bandages. Beside him, the doctor Jyou was standing, a concerned expression upon his face. "The pain's mostly faded."

"All the same, you'll stay off your feet the next few days," the doctor replied. Jyou was a tall man, with dark hair and a pair of spectacles on his nose. He was young, but not without skill, for he was quite well known as the official palace doctor, to whom all the other physicians reported, and with whom was trusted the King's own health. Hanging on his shoulder was Gomamon, a mostly white digimon with flippers.

Lord Motomiya was there as well, a stern but slightly relieved expression upon his face. He nodded briefly toward Ken as he entered. "Thank you for your assistance, doctor," he said to Jyou now, and then turned toward Daisuke. "You'll do as he says and recover."

Daisuke nodded obediently. "Yes, sir."

"Thank you for your assistance as well, your highness," Lord Motomiya went on, speaking now to Hikari, "and the use of your chambers. As soon as the doctor deems it wise, we'll move him from your bed."

"There's no hurry," Hikari replied. "It'd be no good to slow his recovery."

"I'd advise you not attempt moving him for at least a few hours," Jyou stated, adjusting his glasses. "When you do, go slowly and cautiously. Even if he seems fine, dizziness could be quite dangerous, and appear suddenly."

"Then lead to further injury," Lord Motomiya finished, nodding. "Understood." He sighed. "We will wait until evening if you do not object."

"I have no objections," Hikari assured him.

"Thank you," the Lord said again, and turned to leave. After a moment, the doctor followed.

"I'm messing up your birthday party again," Daisuke said to Hikari as the door shut. "Sorry about that."

She shook her head. "The party hasn't happened yet," she reminded him. "There's still time." Nodding toward Ken, she said, "I'll leave you two alone."

"Thank you," Ken said quietly as she left, and then crossed the room. He shuffled his feet absently for a moment.

Daisuke leaned back against the pillow. "Yeah," he said, "I know. I shouldn't have gone. I was trying to help out, and I wasn't thinking."

"Is it bad?" Ken asked after a long moment. "It looked bad."

"It hurt a lot when I woke up," the injured one replied. "I've had a lot of potions to drink that help with the pain, so it's not as bad now."

"That's good," Ken noted, and said nothing further.

"You're blaming yourself, aren't you?" Daisuke asked after some time had passed. Again, Ken said nothing, and so he went on. "You needed to sleep, remember? You were hurt, and you needed rest. You didn't ask me to do this, I volunteered."

"If I'd been there…."

"You would have been hurt, instead, maybe killed," Daisuke finished. "And then what would have happened?"

"Maybe not," Ken disagreed. "Maybe I…."

"Would have been only mildly injured? Then what? Who would have saved _you_?"

This time, Ken did not have a ready answer. He sighed, stuffed his hands into his pockets, and then sat down in a nearby armchair. For a long time, he said nothing, only seemed to be thinking.

"He's too strong for me," he said at last. "I haven't been able to touch him, to get near enough to put a scratch on him. The only reason either of us survived last night was because he _let_ us survive."

"Why would he do that?" V-mon questioned.

"He's not a killer," his partner realized. "We've been calling him an assassin, but he hasn't _killed_ anyone yet. Maybe he wasn't trying to?"

"So then, what _is_ he trying to do?"

As Hikari left her bedchamber, Iori was approaching. Despite the early morning hour, he was impeccably dressed in a simple dark brown tunic with green trim, his usual uniform.

"Princess," he said, pausing a few steps away. "His majesty has asked me to summon you right away."

"Did he say why?" she wondered.

"Not really, no," Iori admitted as they began to walk down the hallway. "I admit I didn't ask for specifics, but he seemed concerned over the news of last evening's incident."

"I imagine he would be," Hikari replied. "Two attacks in one day, right on the palace grounds."

"Yes ma'am," Iori agreed. "I wouldn't say he is in the best of moods."

"And how _will_ you explain it?" Ken demanded.

"I'll tell them that the Dark Bandit is a friend of mine," Daisuke replied. "I don't have to say specifics, and I won't say that I know who he is."

"Will they believe that?" Wormmon wondered.

Daisuke shrugged. "Maybe not," he admitted. "But what reason do they have to doubt me?"

Ken shot him an exasperated look. "You think he'll need a reason?" he asked. "If the King really considers the Dark Bandit to be an enemy, he'll do anything possible to find him. If he thinks you know how to get to him, and you know his identity…."

"I know the risks," Daisuke interrupted. "I knew them when we started this, and so did you. If you're not backing down, then neither am I."

It seemed as though Ken would argue, but there was no time. The doorknob turned, and the door opened as Hikari returned.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting," she said.

"It's your room, princess," Daisuke replied. "I'm the one interrupting you."

"I wanted to tell you not to worry about missing things. So long as the intruder is about, Father has decided it is best not to risk large gatherings."

She noted that they briefly exchanged glances before Daisuke spoke again. "So the party tonight?"

"Postponed," she replied. "Until we can be certain of all our safeties."

"It's not a bad idea," Ken said quietly in a slightly reluctant tone.

Daisuke leaned back on the pillows behind him shut his eyes. "So I've managed to ruin another birthday party after all," he said, sighing.

"Don't say that," Hikari scolded. "It wasn't your fault that you were injured. If anything, it's the fault of whoever it was that hurt you. Until we've determined who he is and how to stop him, everyone is in danger."

There was a moment of silence. Once more, the injured boy sighed. "It's not as though I'm completely innocent, princess," he confessed.

Surprised, both Hikari and Ken spoke at the same time: "What do you mean?"

"I wasn't attacked while sleeping, or sitting in my bedroom, or anything like that," Daisuke explained. "I was trying to help the Dark Bandit in his mission."

"Trying to help?" Hikari echoed blankly. "How…?" She turned briefly toward Ken, who had a similarly clueless expression.

He sighed, pointed toward the roof with one hand. "Trying to watch Miyako, to see if she would be attacked again," he replied. "I figured that even if I couldn't stop him I could maybe slow him down enough that she could get to safety."

"And instead, you were attacked," Ken finished.

Hikari sat down in a nearby armchair, a rather stunned expression on her face. "I should have known," she said. "When he brought you here, last night, he said as much himself." She thought for a moment before she went on. "This isn't the first time you've helped him, is it?"

"No," he admitted. "It's not."

"Do you know…who he is?" she wondered.

"Have you completely lost your mind?" Ken demanded suddenly, speaking loudly enough that he startled the others. V-mon, who had been dozing near the foot of the bed in a half-asleep state, abruptly opened his eyes and looked about, as though he was expecting danger.

Daisuke blinked at him in surprise, for he had not been expecting such a reaction. "I…," he began, and then noticed the flicker of anger in his friend's eyes and forgot whatever else he was going to say.

"He's right," Hikari noted solemnly. "You've put yourself in a lot of danger."

"I have been careful," Daisuke replied. "I have never before been hurt. I am in no more danger than the Dark Bandit himself."

"Which is a great deal of danger to begin with," Ken pointed out, and sighed. He sat down in another nearby armchair and rubbed at his eyes as though he could feel a headache returning.

"It is," Hikari agreed, and sighed. Turning back toward Daisuke, she said, "If my father knew of this…."

"I know," he replied. "Tell him if you must, princess. I have no regrets."

Ken made a low groaning noise that might have been an expression of pain. Alarmed, Hikari asked, "Are you all right?"

Abruptly, he got to his feet. "I think I ought to go and lie down," he said. "I believe my headache is returning. If you'll excuse me."

She nodded, and he headed immediately toward the door.

"Ken," Daisuke said, calling after him, but he did not turn, and the door shut behind him.

"Do you think he's all right?" Hikari asked, somewhat concerned.

Daisuke sighed. "No," he replied, "but then, he never really is."

Jun was in the hall when Ken exited the bedroom. Distracted by his thoughts, he did not immediately see her, and was thus quite surprised when she called out to him.

"Is he all right?" she asked, and he noted the expression of worry upon her face which he was not accustomed to seeing.

"He will be," Ken replied. "The doctor has said he ought to stay off his feet a few days, but he's going to be fine." He mustered up a reassuring smile which did little to reassure himself.

"Oh thank heavens," she said with a relieved sigh, and briefly shut her eyes. "Mother won't admit it to either of us, but I think she might be dying. If he went ahead and died at the same time…."

"No," he said, "he's not going to die. Not from this. It seems that it was only a hit on the head. In a few days, he'll be back to normal."

Jun once more sighed in relief. "Thanks, Ken," she said. "I'm going to go and see him now."

"The party has been postponed?" Miyako asked, astonished. "Why?"

Takeru shrugged. "Something having to do with that assassin that's been targeting you, it seems," he replied.

They were in the gardens, surrounded by a multitude of flowers. Takeru was leaning up against a low wall, his partner resting as usual upon his head. His brother was seated upon another wall, a thoughtful frown upon his face. Sora was also there, as she and Miyako had been leisurely strolling along when they'd come upon the brothers.

"Oh no," Miyako said then, shaking her head. "I hope this isn't my fault. I shouldn't have come. I should have stayed home, like Mother wanted." Obviously distressed, she sat down upon a nearby wooden bench.

"It's not your fault," Sora disagreed. "You did nothing to provoke this stranger." Turning toward Takeru, she asked, "Is this because of the attack at yesterday's picnic?"

He didn't know, but Yamato shook his head. "No," he replied, "I think something else has happened. I don't know what. Last night it seemed as though everything was proceeding according to schedule."

"So maybe something happened last night?" she concluded. "Well, nothing involving Miyako, since she's right here."

"Involving someone else, then," Yamato agreed. "He didn't seem to be specifically targeting her yesterday, so it's reasonable to think that he might have harmed someone else."

"I haven't seen Daisuke all day," Takeru observed. "Neither he nor Ken were at breakfast. Do you think they might be involved somehow?"

"It's possible," his brother replied with a shrug. "No way to know for sure until we ask them." He sat up a bit straighter then, and hopped down from the wall to stand beside it. "Or we could ask her."

Hikari was approaching, heading directly toward them through the maze of flowers in this section of the garden. When she was close enough to speak, she stopped and said, "I suppose you all have heard."

"Just now, Takeru reported it," Sora replied. "Has something happened?"

"There was an incident last night," Hikari answered. "Daisuke was attacked, it seems by the same stranger who shot at us yesterday."

"Is he all right?" Yamato asked.

"He will be," she replied. "He received a good blow to the back of the head, and Jyou has said that he ought to stay in bed a few days, but he is otherwise uninjured."

Miyako let out a sound that was somewhere between a groan and a whimper and put her face in her hands.

"It's not your fault," Sora scolded. "Stop blaming yourself."

"He's going to be all right," Hikari said in a reassuring tone. "The Dark Bandit saved him."

"The Dark Bandit?" Takeru echoed.

"So he is not so badly injured as we feared," Yamato noted, recalling the previous day's swordfight.

Hikari nodded. "He brought Daisuke to me. It seems he was injured because he was trying to help the Bandit."

There was a brief silence that fell over the assembled group.

"To help?" Miyako said blankly.

"Has he lost his mind?" Yamato asked. "He wished to help an outlaw?"

"How was he helping?" Sora wanted to know.

Hikari related the story to them all without further interruption, including the confession Daisuke had given that this was not the first time that he had assisted the Bandit in his tasks. Once more, a brief but stunned silence fell over the group.

"He _has_ lost his mind," Takeru concluded, and now sat down upon the wall behind him.

Evening had fallen, the sunset painting the sky in a multitude of orange and purple shades. Upon further examination, the doctor Jyou had determined that it would be all right for Daisuke to return to his own bedroom, so long as he made the journey with plenty of assistance.

And so Daisuke made his way through the corridors and down a short flight of stairs, attended to by not only Ken and his sister, but also three nurses and another doctor Jyou had sent along. He felt a slight bit of dizziness upon standing, but it quickly faded, and he was of the opinion that he probably could have made it on his own. When he ventured to state this opinion, however, he was quickly silenced by several voices.

They settled him into his own bed and then all but Ken and Jun departed. Ken still sported a vaguely disapproving frown upon his face, and the worried expression Jun wore only grew more severe as time went on.

"Even if he isn't killed," she said now, sinking into an armchair, "it surely won't be long before…."

Ken said nothing, for there was not much for him to say that might be in the slightest bit reassuring. He set to work lighting the candles and lanterns in the room, as the setting sun was beginning to leave them all in darkness.

"I think of it as an opportunity," Daisuke said to his sister in an unrealistically optimistic tone. "An opportunity to explain to the King exactly what is going on within his borders, to open his mind to the injustices that are occurring."

"He is going to be killed," Jun said with a heavy sigh, sinking deeper into the chair. "How am I to explain that to Mother?"

"I'm not going to be killed," Daisuke disagreed.

"I don't envy you the task," Alraumon said to her partner.

Jun opened her mouth to disagree with her brother, but at that moment there was a knock upon the door. She turned toward it in confusion. As Ken had finished his task of candle lighting and was nearest the door, he opened it to find that Taichi was standing there.

"Your highness," Ken said politely, stepping aside to allow him entrance. Jun let out a gasp that betrayed her concern and got to her feet. Taichi stuffed his hands into his pockets and hovered in the doorway.

"Do you think I could speak to him alone?" he asked. Ken hesitated a moment, briefly glanced back toward Daisuke, and nodded.

"As you wish," he replied, and looked toward Jun.

She took a step backward, as though hoping to defend her brother from any attack, and did not speak or obey the unspoken command.

"Jun," Daisuke said quietly, and she turned toward him. Wordlessly, she shook her head. "It's all right," he said.

She took a deep, slow breath, then looked toward Ken, who nodded toward the door. Quietly, she sniffled, and then followed him out. The door shut quietly behind them as Taichi stepped the rest of the way into the room.

For a moment, there was silence. Taichi absently wandered through the room, hands in pockets, apparently quite interested in the décor. "How are you feeling?" he finally asked.

"Better," Daisuke replied. "It hurts only a little, and less if I don't move too much."

At long last, the young prince turned away from his study of a painting on the wall. His eyes were serious, his posture stern. "I need to ask you some things."

Daisuke nodded. "She talked to you, then," he concluded. "I'll answer what I can."

"What can you tell me about the Dark Bandit?" he asked, getting right to the point.

There was a moment of silence.

"Not very much," Daisuke admitted.

Taichi sighed a heavy sigh. "You know who he is." It wasn't a question.

Daisuke was studying the foot of his bed, staring at his toes, which were invisible beneath the blankets. He hesitated for a long moment before he finally answered: "Yes, sir, I do."

There was a long moment of silence. Taichi stared toward him for a long moment, perhaps in disbelief, and then turned away. For a few moments, he paced, walking across the room and then back again.

"I can't betray him," Daisuke went on then. "I know what it means to tell you this, but I cannot."

Taichi let out a breath of frustration. "Do you know what my father will do to you when he learns of this?" he asked. "Do you have any idea how much he has spoken about the Dark Bandit; how much he would like to see him destroyed?"

"No, sir," Daisuke admitted, "but I can guess."

"Have you ever seen my father angry?" Taichi went on. "I have. I have seen his temper at its worse. It frightens me, and I have never borne the brunt of it."

"Yes, sir," Daisuke said quietly when Taichi paused to see what he might say.

"I cannot protect you."

Daisuke shook his head. "I do not ask for protection, sir. I look forward to meeting with the King, to explaining things to him."

Taichi now shook his head in frustration and disbelief. "You will not be able to _explain_ things," he replied. "There will be no chance for discussion!"

A confused expression was the response to this, and so Taichi went on. "My father will not _speak_ to you," he explained. "He will not give you a chance to explain. Even if you are right to defend the Bandit, my father will not allow the possibility. To him, you will be a traitor."

Again there was silence, and then Daisuke nodded. "I will be a traitor then," he replied.

Taichi stared at him a long moment and then sat down. "Do you understand what you are saying?" he asked.

"I understand," Daisuke replied. "I cannot be loyal to a king who would do such things as I have seen done, who would allow such things to happen. I have seen old men imprisoned, fathers removed from their families, mothers separated from their children, and for no great offense. I have seen the conditions of that prison built in Motomiya, and the people who dwell within it. None of them deserved it. I could not protect them, so I do not ask you to protect me."

He took a deep breath. "I owe my life and much more to the one you call the Dark Bandit. I am loyal to the principles of right and wrong. If that makes me guilty of treason, then so be it."

Taichi was silent for some time. "I cannot make such a choice," he finally said. "It is the King's decision." He got to his feet.

Studying his feet, Daisuke nodded. "Yes, sir," he replied. "I understand."

Turning toward the door, Taichi again took a deep breath. "You will not reconsider?"

"I can't," he answered. "I'm sorry."

"I will delay," the prince said then, briefly turning back to face him, "as long as I can."

As he was not permitted to go walking about, Daisuke ate the evening meal alone, in bed. A tray was brought to him, loaded with food which he slowly but steadily ate. No sooner had he finished devouring the meal than a light tap sounded upon his door.

It opened slowly, and Hikari peeked her head around the doorframe. "Do you mind a few visitors?" she asked. "Or am I disturbing you?"

He brightened immediately, setting aside the empty tray. "No, come in," he replied, gesturing, and so she entered, bringing Miyako along behind her.

"Are you feeling all right?" Hikari asked. He waved his hand dismissively.

"I am told I will be fine," he replied casually. "Nothing serious."

"You see?" Hawkmon said to his partner. "Nothing serious."

"All the same," Miyako replied, and sat down in one of the many armchairs. "I feel responsible."

" _You_ do?" Daisuke echoed blankly, and shook his head. "No, that's ridiculous."

"You were trying to protect me, weren't you?" she returned. "If I wasn't in danger, if I had stayed behind with my mother, this wouldn't have happened."

"There's no guarantee of that," he disagreed. "You can't take the blame for this. It isn't your fault you're in danger."

"How do you know?" she asked. "Maybe it is my fault. Maybe I did something to wrong him, long ago, and I don't remember it."

"Even if you did," Hikari pointed out, "there's no need to try to kill you over it, or to endanger as many people as he has."

"I suppose you're right," Miyako admitted with a sigh. "I still feel horrible over it, though."

"Well, don't," Daisuke told her, "as it is in no way your fault."

Hikari now sat in another armchair. "There's something I need to tell the both of you, that I haven't mentioned before. I met with this Bandit of yours a few days ago."

Miyako looked up from the floor she had been studying in a rather dejected manner. "You what?" she asked. Daisuke didn't appear to be quite as astonished, but he frowned, as though he disapproved of the action, or perhaps only the telling of it.

"I told him that I would do nothing to hinder his mission, so long as his mission was to protect you," Hikari replied. "I did not see any reason not to trust him in that matter." She turned toward Daisuke. "Is there one?"

He shook his head. "No," he replied.

There was another knock upon the door, and now it was Takeru and his brother that entered. "Are we late?" Takeru questioned. "You said to come here after the meal."

"Late?" Daisuke echoed blankly, and turned once more toward Hikari. "You planned a meeting here, princess?"

"I did," she replied, and got to her feet to greet the newcomers. "I hope you do not mind a few more visitors."

There was no polite way to refuse visitors that had already arrived. Daisuke leaned back against the pillows behind him and sighed, deciding that it might be best to enjoy this company while it was possible. "I don't mind," he said, "but I wonder about the purpose of this meeting."

"To discuss things," Hikari replied. As the brothers took seats, she repeated the news she had already told the others, reporting on her meeting with the Bandit. "I believe," she added, "that he is a valuable ally in protecting Miyako."

"A dangerous move, princess," Yamato commented. "Did you have any reassurance that he might not wish you harm?"

She shook her head. "If he had wished me harm, he had plenty of opportunities before our meeting."

"And plenty since," Takeru noted. "So I suppose it wasn't completely insane to believe that he meant you no harm."

"Does your brother know about this?" Yamato asked, and at that moment precisely the door opened once more to reveal Taichi himself.

"He does now," Taichi said, for through the thin door he had indeed heard all that had been said before. The room fell silent as he entered, and no one moved or spoke as he crossed the space between the door and his sister.

"I'm certain he's friendly," Hikari told him. "We all owe him our lives. Do you not remember the picnic?"

"Father believes him to be an enemy," he stated. "He has been responsible for great injuries in the past. Do you not remember the stories we heard of the prison at Motomiya? He nearly killed several guards and freed several dozen prisoners."

"How can Father consider him an enemy if he saved our lives?" Hikari questioned. "I believe he is on our side."

Taichi sighed. "The situation is far more complicated than that," he returned. "So long as Father considers him an enemy, it is not wise to help him."

"Even if that means that Miyako could get hurt, or killed?" she asked.

To this, her brother had no ready reply. "He's right, princess," Daisuke said then. "You put yourself in danger by continuing such an alliance."

"How can you advise me of such a thing," she demanded, "when you have formed your own alliance?"

A hush fell over the room. Takeru and Yamato stared wordlessly, wide-eyed and open-mouthed, toward first Hikari and then Daisuke. Miyako got to her feet. "Formed your own alliance?" she echoed. "So you have been working with him all along?"

"Well, I…," Daisuke mumbled for a moment, stumbling over his words. _Working_ was perhaps not the correct description of what he had been doing. This was no time to debate over semantics however, and so he sighed and nodded. "I have," he replied.

"Insanity," Yamato mumbled. "All insanity."

"Who's responsible for this?" Miyako demanded. "Who is it that's been attacking me?"

Daisuke shook his head. "I don't know," he replied. "We haven't any idea."

"He speaks the truth," a new voice collaborated. Through the doors leading to the small outer balcony, a new figure had arrived: the Bandit himself.

A stunned silence greeted him as he stepped into the room. Yamato placed one hand upon the hilt of the sword that he wore even now, but he did not draw his weapon. Takeru took a step backward. Taichi sighed heavily and sank into the nearest chair.

"What purpose do you have for protecting me?" Miyako asked, for having begun to ask bold questions, she did not particularly wish to stop. Sora took hold of her arm, as though afraid she might run off.

"You were in danger, Lady Miyako," the bandit replied as simply as he had before. "I did not think you would object."

"It is not that action I object to," she replied, "but every other one. Why do you hide? And what do you mean by freeing prisoners?"

"I freed prisoners who were punished unjustly," he answered. "I freed men who were imprisoned but had committed no crimes. I hide in an attempt to protect those close to me." Briefly, he glanced toward Daisuke as he spoke these words.

"In an attempt to protect yourself, too, am I right?" Takeru questioned boldly. The Dark Bandit briefly nodded in his direction, and did not disagree with the fact.

Taichi now got to his feet, halting whatever further conversation might have happened then. "Meeting is adjourned," he stated.

Immediately, there were protests from the others. "We haven't discussed or decided anything," Sora reminded him.

"No," he agreed, "but the meeting is over. All of you: Out."

"Taichi…," Yamato began, but the prince merely turned a stern eye in his direction, effectively silencing him. Reluctantly, he turned to leave. His brother and the girls followed.

"Hikari," Taichi said as she reached the door. "I must speak to you. Alone." He turned toward the Bandit. "Wait here. I must talk to you, too."

When they were gone, the Dark Bandit folded his arms over his chest and frowned disapprovingly toward Daisuke. "Your time is limited," he told him. "You have sealed your own death, tied your own noose. Why did you tell them that you knew me when we had agreed that you would not?"

"What good would lying do?" Daisuke wondered, leaning back against the pillows and studying the ceiling. "I was tired of being untruthful. If something's to be accomplished, something has to be done."

"You really have lost your mind, haven't you?"

"Probably," he admitted.

"I don't know how to help you," the Bandit confessed. "I could take you out of here, but there is no safe to place to go."

Daisuke shook his head. "No," he replied. "I'm not running away."

Turning aside, the Bandit was silent for a few moments, studying the outside world through the window. "I could tell them who I am," he said thoughtfully. "It would erase the charges against you."

Daisuke sat up sharply. "No!" he replied in a louder tone than expected. Startled, the other turned away from the window. "You think after all this, we should give up like that?"

"Careful," warned his friend. "You're supposed to be…."

He waved aside this concern. "I promised you, I swore that I would keep this secret, no matter what. You cannot simply confess!"

"This is different. Your life is in danger, and because of me," came the reply. "If anyone should be executed for the crimes of the Dark Bandit, it should be me."

"And then who goes on doing good?" Daisuke returned. He had grown paler. Even while sitting, he appeared to be wavering in his balance. "If you're killed, who will finish what you've started? Who will protest injustices?"

There was no response to this. "You're supposed to be resting," said the Bandit after a few moments had passed. He sighed a heavy sigh.

Slowly, Daisuke sat back against the pillows and briefly shut his eyes. "I won't let you give up," he said. "I won't."

The color already had begun to creep back into his face, but it seemed that dizziness had come upon him and so he sat, unmoving for a few more moments. At long last, the Bandit sighed a weighty sigh and sat down within an armchair.

"If this is what you want, I will give you your way," he said then. "I will continue what we've begun. I will keep going."

Daisuke opened his eyes and nodded his head as much he could while at the same time moving as little as possible. "Good," he said, and shut his eyes once more. "Watch your head," he added. "That guy hits hard."


	6. Consequences

The parlor was unoccupied, dark and cool. A fire had been lit, but it provided little in the way of either warmth or light. Hikari stepped into the room and let the door shut quietly. She waited as her brother crossed the room, turned, and then walked back to her.

"Have you lost your mind?" he asked.

"No, I haven't," Hikari replied immediately. "I'm the only one thinking sensibly. How could Father consider an enemy someone who has _helped_ us?"

"It's far more complicated than that!"

"I don't see how!"

"It's not so simple as he has saved a few lives and thus he must be good," Taichi explained. "He's caused damage as well. In Motomiya, he was responsible for serious injuries to many guards, and for releasing many more prisoners."

She was silent in response to this for a long moment. "Do you really think that he means any of us harm?" she asked.

He sighed heavily and sank into an overstuffed armchair. "I don't know," he admitted, "and it doesn't matter what I think. It matters what the King thinks, what Father thinks. _He_ thinks the Dark Bandit is an enemy."

"And what if he is wrong?" Hikari dared question. "How could Father think him to be an enemy? Didn't he protect us all in the garden yesterday?"

"It doesn't matter!" Taichi repeated, throwing his hands up into the air. He got once more to his feet. "It doesn't matter!"

He spoke so loudly, and with such vehemence that Hikari fell silent. Her eyes grew briefly wide, and then she looked away. Taichi sighed heavily and turned away, resuming his pacing.

"You have to listen to me, Hikari," he said finally, in a somewhat quieter voice. "Regardless of what is _right_ or _wrong_ , our father, the _King_ , considers the Dark Bandit to be an enemy. You and I cannot form alliances with his enemies."

Hikari frowned and opened her mouth to speak, but he continued, "You have never seen him angry. You have never seen him outraged at lawbreakers. If the Bandit were captured, he'd probably be killed. To be honest, at this point it's not looking particularly good for Daisuke either."

"And you don't think we should stop that?" she asked.

He sighed again. "Even if he's aiding the enemy, he is still a friend. I feel bad about it, of course I do."

"But you're not going to try to stop it," Hikari concluded.

"There isn't anything I could do," Taichi replied in a defeated-sounding voice.

He sat down again in the chair he had abandoned. "According to the doctors, Lady Motomiya is likely dying."

"Dying?" she echoed blankly, and shook her head. "I thought she had a cold."

"The last of many, it seems," he answered with a sigh. "All I can do is delay, Hikari. I can't save him, even if it's the right thing to do."

Now it was Hikari who turned away, heading for the door. "All you _can_ do?" she replied as she opened the door, "Or all you are unafraid to do?"

The door opened, and Daisuke moved to sit up fully, ignoring the faint dizziness in his head. If it was his own demise that was coming, he thought, it would be best to face it head on.

Hikari stood in the doorway for a moment, some unreadable expression on her face. Then, she crossed the room, her expression now one of worry and concern. "You ought to be resting," she scolded, and began to arrange the pillows behind him. "If you do not rest, you will not recover."

 _'_ _Recover?'_ Daisuke thought with a brief sliver of optimism. It was quickly squelched, however, by the presence of Taichi in the doorway, having followed his sister.

There was silence for several minutes. Daisuke felt the eyes of the prince upon his own, as though there was some question he wished to ask. He did not speak, though, and then the moment passed. He turned briefly toward the Dark Bandit, and then nodded his head toward the room behind him. Without glancing even briefly toward the others, the Bandit followed.

Hikari sighed, so quietly that he wondered if he had imagined it at all, and then she placed her hands upon his shoulders. "Rest," she said in a stern voice, and he obeyed, lying back down.

She pulled the blankets up and settled them down over him. Neither spoke.

 _'_ _Is it because she knows I'm going to die?_ ' he wondered as he watched. _'Is this why she is taking care of me? What's the point, if I will simply be executed anyway?'_

Unless she didn't think that. Unless Taichi had some other plan. Again, the brief bit of optimism, of hope, appeared, but Daisuke pushed this aside, for it was unlikely. Taichi would do as his father wished, as he always had. He would not risk his own position or the state of the Kingdom in order to assist a friend and a mysterious bandit.

Though she had moved slowly, the task Hikari had assigned herself was not a complex one, and so she finished at last. Quietly, she sat in the chair beside the bed and studied him, still not speaking.

"Thank you," Daisuke said after another moment had passed, more for something to say than anything else. "You don't have to stay with me."

She frowned briefly, as though he had somehow goaded her into defiance. "I _want_ to," she replied, and then shrugged lightly. "It isn't as though I've anything better to do."

This was a lie, he knew. She was _Princess_ , after all. There was always _something_ requiring her attention. Was there some other reason she wished to stay? Had Taichi ordered it? Was she acting as his guard?

When the door opened once more, it was not a friendly face that emerged, and it was not for long after that Daisuke kept his consciousness.

"I have no desire to fight with you, your highness," the Bandit stated when the door had shut behind them and he was alone now with the King's son. He spread his arms wide, so that it was clear to all that he was armed with no visible weapons.

"Wise choice," the prince observed. "All I'd need to do is shout for assistance and a dozen armed guards would enter the room."

"I assure you," the other replied, "I would be capable of departing before they executed their objective." With a dramatic flourish, however, he now sank down to one knee and bowed his head. "I do not believe this is the time for battles, your highness."

"No," Taichi agreed, and his voice held some grudging respect and surprise. "I didn't ask you here to fight."

"To talk, then?" the Bandit questioned. "Intelligent discourse is a far better alternative."

For a moment, the prince was silent. "Something like that," he replied. "I desire explanations."

"My objective," the Dark Bandit replied, "is to protest injustices. Primarily injustices created or furthered by the King."

"How do you define injustice?" Taichi asked.

"An injustice is when a punishment is given to an innocent," came the answer. "An injustice is when a punishment given is far too great for a crime."

"You're saying that the people you freed from Motomiya prison were innocents?" Taichi concluded. "That would make it seem as though your quarrel was with Lord Motomiya or his magistrates, not my father."

"No, your highness," the Bandit answered, briefly shaking his head. "The prisoners I freed were placed in their cells by direction of the King's policies, not the Lord's."

He noted the thoughtful expression upon the prince's face, and so he went on, elaborating. "The magistrates can judge if punishment is required," he explained, "but it is the King who declares the terms."

"Upon the _recommendation_ of the magistrates," Taichi interrupted, "and with the influence of the Lords. The King doesn't interfere in every case."

"Your highness is correct," the Bandit replied, nodding in deference. "It is the King's task to set a recommended punishment for each crime, however. As an example, the penalty for stealing in Motomiya is for a year within the prison."

"You would suggest that is too harsh?" Taichi questioned. "I hardly think that is your imperative."

"I do not claim it is, your highness."

"Then I fail to understand your complaint."

"My complaint, your highness, is when stealing is the only option for survival," the Bandit stated. For the first time, an emotion entered his voice. The sound of disgust and anger rather than politeness was evident in his tone. Taichi almost stepped back, suddenly wondering about the wisdom of his actions.

Even unarmed, the Bandit was likely not a harmless man. Though his shout for aid _would_ bring guards, it would not be an immediate assistance, and there were ways to kill without weapons. Taichi was not only unarmed, but also without his partner. He had entered, alone, into a room with one of his father's sworn enemies. What guarantee did he have that he would emerge again alive?

"The people I freed in Motomiya were people who had no food," the Bandit continued. "They had no other choice but to steal. They stole not because of greed or selfish desires, but for _survival._ "

Taichi blinked, turning away from his own worries, attempting to comprehend these words. "I don't understand," he admitted.

"When we were young, there was a war," the Bandit stated. "Men of this kingdom were pressed into service in your father's army. While they were gone, their crops failed. There was no one to tend them. They could not pay their taxes to their Lords, and so they could not remain upon his land. They wandered then, from village to village, stealing and begging to survive. They _had no choice._ "

Taichi shook his head once more. "Your complaint is again with the Lords, and not the King," he replied. "If the Lords had been more understanding…."

"The Lords were _not allowed_ to be more understanding, your highness," the Bandit interrupted. Though he remained kneeling, his words and his tone were straying further from polite deference. "The King ordered that the punishment for failure to pay taxes be banishment. If the Lords were more understanding, the King discovered it and ordered the people imprisoned or banished anyway. He made, and continues to make no allowances for special circumstances. I have seen with my own eyes widows and children forced into prisons who had already sacrificed their husbands and fathers in the name of the King's war."

Suddenly, as though he were aware of his audience, the Dark Bandit fell silent. He bowed his head once more, his eyes upon the floor. "My apologies, your highness."

There was a long moment of silence. Taichi stood staring at the stranger kneeling before him, pondering his words. He had long believed his father to be a good man. He had long seen him do good things. He could not easily believe otherwise.

And yet, what the Bandit said, he knew to be true. He had spent the last few years studying the laws and the responsibilities of Kingship, knowing that he must one day take his father's place. He knew the penalties the King had ordered for thieves, and he knew that his father usually rejected the pleas of those criminals who begged him for leniency. Taichi had always thought, had always been taught, that a tough hand was required in dealing with enemies.

Yet, in the back of his mind he had occasionally wondered if the people his father declared to be enemies were truly enemies as he claimed. It seemed as though there had lately been more and more enemies.

Perhaps, he thought, the Dark Bandit was not an enemy. Not an ally, exactly, but not an enemy. Certainly, if Daisuke trusted him, was willing to _die_ for him and his ideals, he could not be an evil man. As Hikari had pointed out many times, he _had_ saved lives. He had protected them all in the gardens, and he had saved Miyako in Takenouchi-Inoue. There could be no evil in his heart.

"I cannot protect him," Taichi said at last, and the Dark Bandit raised his head, an expression of confusion evident despite the mask and hat. "I can try to delay, but I cannot protect him. It won't be long before my father learns of this." He was silent for a moment.

"You know what he does to traitors," the Dark Bandit said quietly, and Taichi nodded.

"I know," he replied, and sighed. "I can promise you that I will attempt to talk my father into reason, but I cannot promise that it will do any good."

"With all due respect, your highness, I do not believe it will. You may be putting yourself in danger as well."

Taichi shook his head. "You don't know him," he replied. "Not as I do. My father is a good man. He can't have _known_ that he has hurt so many. He cannot think that executing Daisuke is a good idea. It will take time, but he will come to his senses."

He could sense the skepticism in the other's mind, and changed the subject. "Can you do anything?" he asked. "Can you protect him, hide him maybe?"

"I have offered such a plan, your highness, but he has refused."

"Refused?" Taichi echoed. "Is he insane?"

"I often wonder such a thing, your highness," the Bandit admitted with a faint hint of humor in his voice. "He is determined to face his fate."

"He is determined to become a martyr," Taichi concluded. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "His mother is dying, and he wants to join her." He sighed again. "Take him by force if you must, but get him out of here as soon as possible. I do not think there is much time."

The Dark Bandit considered. "He _is_ injured," he recalled, "I may have a chance of that."

Though he was not eager for the conversation, Ken braced himself for the argument. He absently straightened his shoulders and took a deep breath, preparing to grip the door handle.

"You are not looking forward to this," Wormmon observed from a short distance away, peering up at his partner with a knowing eye. "Do you think you'll have to knock him unconscious and carry him away?"

"If I have to, then I will," Ken replied determinedly. He turned the knob and pushed open the door.

The room was silent. Outside, the wind was blowing gently, rattling the trees. Ken released the door, and it swung closed, unexpectedly loud in the silence.

Hikari was near the bed. She had been sitting, but now she got to her feet, alarmed by the sound. When she saw him more clearly, however, she breathed a relieved sigh, placing one hand upon her chest. "You startled me," she said.

"I apologize," he replied immediately, instinctively, and then noticed that the bed itself was empty. He took another step into the room, noticing that his heart was beating a bit faster now, and he silenced the fear he felt building. "What's happened?"

She followed his gaze toward the empty bed, and absently twisted her fingers around each other. "They came for him," she said quietly. "I couldn't do anything to stop it."

It was the sound of a heavy door slamming, somewhere in the distance, that woke Daisuke at last. He was aware first that he was cold, and second that his head was aching more than before. Nearby, he heard the sound of his partner waking as well. V-mon grumbled under his breath without using any words that were even slightly acceptable in polite society.

Daisuke opened his eyes and saw stone beneath him. He blinked in the dim light and saw that there were stone walls around him as well. He tried to sit up, and found that his head ached and there was some strange sensation near his hands. He managed to turn his head, which brought a new aching sensation, and saw that there were now metal shackles upon his wrists.

He moved his head once more and let his eyes fall shut, which somehow managed to ease the pain, though only slightly. "Well," he said quietly, half to his partner and half to himself, "I suppose it won't be much longer now."

If V-mon responded, he did not hear, for a combination of exhaustion and pain soon returned Daisuke to sleep.

Taichi had nearly fallen to sleep in a chair. He'd been attempting to read, but had quickly been distracted by his own thoughts. He knew instinctively that what the Bandit said was correct; his father would never listen to rationalizations. No matter how perfectly he constructed his argument, there would be no debate and no concessions.

The only hope any one had of influencing the King was to slowly and timidly make suggestions over a long period. This was no option, for a life, perhaps several lives, were at stake.

Finally, concluding that no good would come of staying awake all night worrying over it, the prince changed into his nightclothes and readied himself for bed. Agumon had already begun quietly snoring, long ago having fallen to sleep upon the bed.

There was a loud knock upon the door, startling Taichi once more into wakefulness. Agumon opened one eye and mumbled crossly in the direction the sound had come from, and then shut the eye once more and immediately returned to sleep.

Taichi, however, crossed the room and opened the door to find his sister standing in a rather indignant pose in the doorway. "You're a monster!" she accused, and he saw that her eyes were red-rimmed.

He blinked, his half-asleep state doing nothing for the clarity of his vision. "What?" he asked blankly, which did nothing to appease her.

Hikari stormed past him into the room and sat down upon the bed with an annoyed sort of flounce, briefly waking Agumon, who again muttered something unpleasant and returned to sleep. Taichi turned back to the doorway and saw that Ken was standing, his expression grim, somewhere between worried concern and a bit of anger, though the second of these was mostly hidden.

"They came and took Daisuke," Ken explained. "She isn't happy about it."

This was an incredible understatement. Taichi had never seen his sister quite so annoyed. Brushing off his tiredness, he shook his head. "Took him?" he echoed blankly. "I…."

"He is already injured," Hikari said, interrupting before he could say anything further. "Could you not at least wait until he had recovered a bit more? Or at least allowed him to sleep through the night?"

Taichi shook his head. "I didn't do this!" he finally managed to say, stunning her into silence before she could speak further. He took a deep breath and then said, "I told the Dark Bandit to try to convince him to run, to hide. I knew I couldn't stall Father for long, but I didn't – I haven't told him anything!"

Hikari had opened her mouth to continue her speech, and now she stared, mouth hanging open. For a moment, she seemed unable to speak, and then she said, "You didn't…?"

"Then who was it that informed the King?" Ken wondered.

There was a moment of silence. "It could have been anyone," Taichi admitted with a sigh. "Anyone who knows the truth. Yamato, Takeru, Sora, Miyako…."

Hikari shook her head. "I can't believe that. I don't think that any of them would..."

"Nor do I," her brother replied gravely. He sat down, rubbing the tiredness from his eyes. For a long moment, no one spoke.

"Is there anything you can do?" Ken finally asked, getting to the point.

Again, the young prince sighed. "I can try," he replied, "but I don't know that it will have any effect." He paused a moment, collecting his thoughts. "I'll have no luck now. It'll have to wait until morning."

Hikari looked displeased with this plan, but she said nothing. It would do nothing to help the cause to awake the King in the middle of the night. "I suppose you're right," she admitted.

It was early morning when Daisuke awoke, a dim and hazy light filtering in from some distant, tiny window far above. His head felt light, but the pain was not overwhelming as it had been the night before. He felt a steady poking upon his arm, and turned to find his partner studying him with a concerned expression.

"Are you all right?" V-mon asked.

"I think so," Daisuke replied, slowly managing to sit up. He noted the weight of the shackles upon his wrists and took in the sight of cell around him.

It was not a large room by any definition, but a rather tiny space that would have been far too crowded with more than two or three occupants. The walls were made of stone, and stretched quite high above. The dungeons of the palace were built several stories beneath the ground. In order to allow ventilation and a bit of air, small windows were at surface level, far above the floor of the cell. In one corner, there was a pool of water inserted into the ground.

"It's a fun place, isn't it?" V-mon said sarcastically.

The air was still and stale, despite the window, and smelled of dirt, blood, and dampness. Though his head felt better than the day before, Daisuke still felt some dull pain. His throat felt dry, and his voice sounded hoarse when he spoke.

"Something's not right," he thought aloud.

"Oh, you think so?" his partner questioned. "I think it looks the way prison cells usually look."

Daisuke shook his head, "Not that. I mean, something's wrong. Those guards, they came at night, and in front of the princess. Doesn't that seem odd to you?"

"You don't think they'd wish to upset her?" V-mon wondered. "You're giving a lot of credit to palace guards. Maybe you've really made the King mad."

"Maybe," Daisuke admitted, "but Taichi said something about delaying. He didn't seem to have changed his mind about that last night."

"Maybe he did," V-mon replied with a shrug.

"Or someone else told the King."

"Do you think that's possible?"

"I don't know," Daisuke replied with a sigh. His head was starting to hurt again. "Does it matter anymore?"

"I suppose not," V-mon answered. "We're doomed, aren't we?"

Silently, as invisibly as possible, Ken merged into the crowd of clerics and advisors who were always present in the throne room. Though he had no desire to address the King himself, he wished to observe.

It was risky for anyone to confront the King, even the King's son. His power was absolute, and his acceptance of differing opinions was quite minimal. The best opportunity to attempt to persuade him was by slow and subtle coaxing over a long, drawn out period of time.

Taichi was not known to be timid, but he had never dared to openly disagree with his father before. Ken watched from within the crowd as the Prince approached the throne.

The King himself was deep in conversation with the Queen, who sat beside him as always. A small crowd of other scribes and advisors hovered nearby, taking notes and awaiting further orders. Iori, the young man who had greeted the group's arrival a few days before, was there, directing a crowd of clerics. The doctor Jyou, was present as well, engaged in conversation with a young wizard Ken knew well, called Koushiro.

Absently, Ken wondered if one of them had been the hooded bandit with whom he had fought. It didn't seem likely, for none of those he surveyed appeared to have the correct build, or the correct motivation.

Taichi walked forward, slipping through the crowd with ease. Hikari was there as well, and she followed behind him. Ken knew that they had decided that Taichi would do most of the talking, but she had insisted upon being present, perhaps to provide support.

With nothing to do, nothing to eat, and nothing to look at but stone walls, Daisuke had drifted halfway into sleep again, when the cell door slammed open, suddenly startling him awake. The relatively bright torchlight of the hall beyond flooded into the room and made it difficult to see clearly. He squinted through the haze.

A large man entered, dressed in the usual uniform of a palace guard. His partner, a sturdy Gotsumon, stood in the doorway, arms folded across his rocky chest. Upon the guard's belt was a ring of keys which clanked as he took the two steps across the room. Daisuke was in the process of slowly sitting up when the guard gripped hold of his collar and yanked him to his feet in a single fluid motion. He had only vaguely processed the movement before he felt his body slam into the wall. His head exploded with the pain and his vision blurred so that the world seemed to spin around him.

The guard took hold of the chains upon his wrist with one hand and the collar of his shirt with the other and pulled. Daisuke stumbled, tripping over his own feet, only avoided falling upon his face because of the guard's hold upon him. They walked a short distance down a hall, and then entered another small room.

Daisuke once more felt a hard stone wall connect with his face, and tasted a bit of blood within his mouth. The door of this room slammed loudly, and he heard the sound of locks clicking shut. The next few moments were but a blur, as the world spun even more violently now. The shackles upon his wrists were removed, and replaced with others, this time binding his arms above his head.

"Do you not think that the act of defending us, of saving the life of Miyako in Takenouchi-Inoue counts for something?" Taichi concluded.

"Something, perhaps," the King replied, "but it does not erase his previous crimes. He has undermined the system of justice in place within this kingdom by freeing criminals who were justly punished and sentenced."

"And if those criminals were punished in error?" Taichi wondered.

"There are no errors," he answered simply.

"Well, what if you missed part of the story," the prince went on. "What if the criminal had no choice?"

"There is _always_ a choice," the King answered. "Engaging in criminal behavior is a choice."

"Is it?" Taichi asked.

"Of course," came the reply. "There is no one who _accidentally_ steals or _accidentally_ murders. Those are conscious choices, made by a criminal. The punishment for such things is quite clear, written in the laws."

"What about for less serious crimes, though? Failure to pay taxes, as an example."

The King shrugged. "It is a serious crime," he stated. "Taxes benefit the kingdom, benefit all people. All people must participate in this system in order for it to work correctly."

"But what if…?"

"What if, what if," the King interrupted, brushing aside his son's words. "You know the way the system works, Taichi. You know that crimes must be punished, and you know the laws. It is understandable that you would be upset to discover a betrayal by someone you had considered to be a friend, but we cannot let personal feelings sway us in the pursuit of justice."

Taichi was silent for a moment. He bit his lower lip, as though he were considering whether to hold his tongue or continue speaking.

"It is regrettable," his father went on, "that you should have to learn in this matter that not all can be trusted. It is also regrettable that Daisuke should be so delusional as to believe the words of a criminal."

"Delusional?" Hikari questioned in a somewhat indignant voice. All eyes briefly turned toward her, and she immediately fell silent once more, timidly looking away.

"I'm not sure he's wrong," Taichi said in agreement with his sister, to which the King raised one eyebrow.

"Taichi," his mother said in a quiet voice, and briefly, almost unnoticeably, shook her head.

"I don't think Daisuke is delusional," he went on, speaking a bit more bravely now. "There has to be some reason he would defend the Dark Bandit."

"Whatever his reasons," the King replied sharply. "They are wrong."

"What if paying taxes were impossible?" Taichi continued, even bolder now. "What if there was nothing left?"

"I'm not going to debate the merits of the actions of a criminal!" the King declared. His voice was louder now, almost shouting. Conversation within the room lowered to a quiet hush. A short distance away, Hikari took in a sharp breath of surprise. The Queen briefly shut her eyes, and then placed one hand upon her husband's.

"Taichi, this is not the time to discuss this," she said. "The King has made his decision. Perhaps, if Daisuke chooses to cooperate, there will be lenience. It is his choice now."

Again, the prince was silent for a moment. "When will be the time?" he boldly questioned.

"When I say it is," the King replied. He had leaned forward in his seat, both hands gripping the arms of the throne. "Do you defend a traitor?"

"I defend a friend," Taichi answered, "who I am not certain _is_ a traitor. I wish to have evidence before I make any judgment of his guilt."

The King rose to his feet, silencing the already quiet hum of conversation. Taichi took an almost involuntary step backward. "My own _son_!" he declared with some astonishment. "My own _son_ would defend a _traitor_!"

The crowd answered this statement with a quiet hum of astonished murmurs. All eyes which were not already upon the young Prince now turned toward him, wide with astonishment. The Queen had turned quite pale, nearly white with alarm. She sat back in her seat and covered her mouth with one hand, apparently attempting to look as small as possible. Taichi glanced only briefly toward his sister, who had a similar expression of concern. Neither had expected the conversation to proceed in quite this manner.

Two guards who had been stationed at the wide doors at the end of the hall now stepped forward. The crowd moved easily aside, murmuring their astonished comments. Not far from the throne, they paused, standing at attention, and waited for further orders.

"He is still but a boy, my dear," the Queen said quietly.

"He is old enough to understand," he stated, "and old enough to know better." He nodded toward the guards. "Three days."

The murmur of conversation briefly silenced, and then grew louder.

"Three days," the King continued in a louder voice, "in which you shall be confined to your chambers, and in which I do not wish to see you." He nodded toward Hikari. "You may visit," he stated, "if you believe you can talk some sense into him."

She nodded silently, her eyes still quite wide.

The guards stepped forward. Each took hold of one of the prince's arms. Taichi did not protest, but allowed this action. "Do as you wish, Father," he stated boldly, "but I will not change my mind."

"We shall see," the King replied. Only after Taichi had been taken from the room did he slowly sink back into his seat. Conversation resumed its normal volume (though not its normal topics) after a few moments.

From the crowd near the rear of the room, Ken watched as the princess made a few words of conversation with her parents and then began to leave the room. Even from a distance, she appeared to be a bit shaken and upset. After a few more moments, he thought it might be best if he departed as well, and so slipped through the clerics toward the door.

"Ichijouji!" called a clear, blooming voice from across the room. It was the King's voice which beckoned.

Momentarily, he froze, fear rushing through his veins with more speed than his blood ever had, and then he turned, slowly, to see that the King was indeed beckoning him toward the throne. Briefly, he glanced toward the Princess, who met his gaze and hesitated, almost in the doorway. Ken took a deep breath and walked across the room.

A few eyes followed him as he walked, but conversation had resumed its normal volume, and the crowd did not seem to sense anything was amiss. Several steps from the King's throne, Ken stopped his feet and sank to his knees as tradition and custom demanded.

"I wish to know if there will be further rebellion," the King stated as Ken regained his feet. "Do you plan to defend traitors as well?"

Wormmon, riding upon his partner's shoulder, tightened his grip. His tiny claws gently pinched the flesh. Ken resisted the urge to visibly wince at the pain. "No, your majesty," he replied in a voice that he hoped sounded close to calm.

The King raised one eyebrow, as though in surprise. "Even traitors you would consider friends?"

"I reserve judgment," Ken answered, "as it is not my place to administer justice."

"Wise of you," the King answered. He was silent a moment. "Do you wish to see him before it is too late?"

Again, Ken hesitated. "I…," he began.

"I will grant you a visit, should you give him a message for me."

Ken nodded. "What message?"

"Tell him that my son will not save him."


	7. Blood

The door closed, echoing loudly in the empty space of the cell. Daisuke felt as though the sound echoed inside his very skull. He felt the cool bricks of the wall beside him and leaned against them. They provided little relief for the bruising upon his back, but felt relatively pleasant all the same.

He had bit his tongue, sometimes literally, throughout the last few minutes, in response to both the questions and the repeated slashing of the leather across his skin. Between the welts, he could feel the trickle of his own warm blood as it slid down his back.

"Will you live?" V-mon asked. The guard's partner Gotsumon had assisted in tossing the smaller digimon into a sturdy, iron-barred cage in the corner, despite all his protests. "Daisuke?"

"I…think so," Daisuke mumbled. His head felt light and fuzzy, and he was extremely tired. His hands, bound in shackles above him, had mostly lost feeling, and were the only thing keeping him on his feet. "If…there isn't…much more…."

"Is it over?"

"Somehow," he answered, "I don't…."

The door opened. The heavy boots of the guardsman fell solidly upon the stone floor. With another, echoing slam, the door shut behind him once more.

* * *

Heart still pounding heavily in his ears, Ken emerged into the relative silence of the wide corridor. Here, there were only a few servants and several people engaged in quiet, private conversations that they did not wish to have in the presence of the king and his court. None present paid him any attention. Wormmon, still tense, was clinging to his shoulder as though the wind were quite strong and capable of blowing him off.

"Be careful," the caterpillar digimon whispered. "Be careful. Don't…."

"Are you all right?" a voice interrupted, and Ken looked up to find that the princess was looking toward him with a rather concerned expression.

He nodded, wordlessly, for he had not yet found his voice, and straightened his posture. Clearing his throat, he said, "Yes," and nodded. "I couldn't do it. I couldn't…."

"It might be better that you didn't," she replied in a gentle, consoling tone. "My father's temper would have only been greater after…."

"All the same," Ken said, "I should have defended him. Daisuke…he would have done it for me." _Has done it_ , he added silently.

"It would have accomplished nothing but to put you in the cell beside him," Wormmon said sharply, startling both the others.

"You should listen to your partner," the princess agreed. "He is right."

"Hikari!" a voice called then from some distance down the hall, and a small white feline digimon approached, a somewhat disapproving expression upon her face. "Where have you been all morning?"

"Oh, doing things," she replied. "Did you miss me?"

Tailmon only frowned more deeply. "It is nearly time to eat," she replied, "and you did skip breakfast."

"So I did," her partner recalled. She turned toward Ken. "Will you join me? I think I should like to discuss things a bit more."

* * *

There was no way to measure how much time had passed, or how many lashes he had received. All Daisuke knew was the sound, and the pain.

 _Who_ , the guard would ask, and his deep, loud voice echoed in the tiny cell. The sound would come first, of the crack of the whip in the air, a sharp sound followed by a sharp pain. The first few had not been so unbearable, but before long the pains mulled into one. After some time, he became unable to clearly understand the questions, and found that he did not care. He would not answer them.

He could not answer them.

At long last, it had stopped. Perhaps the guard had lost patience. Perhaps he had given up. Perhaps it was only time for his break. Daisuke did not know; all he knew was that the sound of the barking voice and the cracking whip had stopped. The pain was still there. He could no longer remember what it was like to be without it.

He was only dimly aware that the chains above his head were released. It was only by the strength of the guards, one on each side, holding his arms, that he was able to move down the short hallway. The cell door opened and they released him. Legs unable to support him, Daisuke collapsed immediately to the ground. Even this took too much energy, and so he sank down further, resting his head upon the cold stone floor.

There was a quiet thud nearby, as the guards tossed V-mon beside his partner, and then a loud bang as the door slammed shut once more.

Silence passed for several minutes.

"Do you think, if we told them, it would be better?" V-mon asked.

Daisuke wondered absently if he had lost the ability to think, for he had no thoughts upon the matter. He raised his head now, and saw that the small pool of water was but a short distance away. With a short burst of strength and energy he crawled toward it and then, with shaking hands, sipped some of the liquid.

"It might make death come quicker," he said at last. He splashed the cool water upon his face and ran his hands over his eyes. The world seemed blurry.

"Is that a good thing?" V-mon wondered.

"Might be."

Silence came once more. Daisuke leaned against the wall, resting the side of his head upon the stones. V-mon sat beside him, resting his head upon his partner's lap.

For some time, they sat without speaking.

The door opened, a loud, creaking sound in the silence. It echoed off the high walls and became almost deafening. Daisuke looked up, expecting to see that the guards had returned for him. It did not seem as though it had been so very long since he had seen them, but perhaps hours had passed. There was no way to keep track of time.

It was not the simple boots of a palace guardsman that entered, however, but polished leather shoes. It was not a guard's uniform that this new visitor wore, but clothes made of fine materials. It was not a guard which entered, but the King himself.

Daisuke thought, briefly, that he might make some effort to rise, at least to his knees, but there was little energy left in him to allow for such a demanding movement, and so he simply stared.

"I am disappointed," the King said. His voice, deep and commanding, filled the tiny room with its power. His dark eyes, so high above the floor as he stood, on tall legs, stared down with something like pity and disgust.

"So am I," Daisuke managed to say. He mustered the energy to sit up a bit straighter. "I thought you were a good King."

The King's eyes lost their expression of pity and flashed angry now. "I did not detect rebellion in you, but it's of no consequence. With you, so shall it die. Your influence has not yet completely corrupted my son."

Perhaps, Daisuke thought, his head had been damaged more than he expected, as he did not comprehend the meaning of this sentence. "Taichi…?" he began, but got no further before the solid, polished shoe of the King made contact with his side, knocking all words and air from his body. Two of the Gotsumon guards took hold of V-mon, each gripping one of his arms, and pulled him aside.

" _I_ will ask the questions," the King declared, and now crouched down on the floor. He reached forward and took a clump of hair in his fist, pulling Daisuke to an upright position. "You will answer. Do you understand me?"

Daisuke nodded, but this action was apparently not satisfactory, for the King shook his head, hard. "I understand," he managed to say, and then, when the shaking did not halt, he added on, somewhat reluctantly, "your majesty."

"I knew you would," the King said, a strange sort of triumphant smile now appearing on his face. "Now. Who is he?"

Daisuke said nothing, only shook his head, no. The King drew back his right hand, curled his fingers into a fist, and connected it solidly with the face of his prisoner. Blood immediately began to drip from his nose.

"Daisuke!" V-mon called out in alarm. He struggled, but the grip of the rocky digimon was too solid for him to slip through.

"Perhaps you didn't hear the question clearly," the King said, not sparing a glance toward the digimon. "I asked you to tell me the identity of the one who calls himself the Dark Bandit."

"I can't," Daisuke replied immediately, and then winced in expectant pain.

"Can't?" the King echoed, "or won't."

"Can not," Daisuke answered, "and will not. Would not tell you."

He had scarcely finished speaking before, again, the King slammed his fist into the face of his prisoner. Daisuke thought he felt a tooth or two come loose, and tasted blood.

The King rose again to his feet. "What will convince you?" he asked. "Who should I use? Your friend, Ichijouji, who did not defend you today? Your sister? Your parents?"

"You leave them alone!" V-mon demanded from his corner. "None of them have anything to do with this."

"Keep him quiet," the King ordered. One of the Gotsumon released his hold upon the blue digimon, and, as the other took firmer hold, the rocky digimon punched his fist into his prisoner's stomach. V-mon grunted from the pain.

"I will not betray him," Daisuke said. "I don't care what you do."

Again, the King, in a gesture of frustration, swung his sturdy boot and connected it solidly. Daisuke gave up all pretense of remaining upright and fell upon the ground.

"I'll waste no more time with you today," he said, beckoning toward the Gotsumon. "Soon enough, you will talk." The digimon followed him out, and the door slammed loudly behind him.

There was silence once more. Managing to sit up, Daisuke spat blood upon the ground, and wiped at his face with one hand. He saw more of his blood upon his hand.

"Did you know," V-mon mumbled from where he lay upon the ground, "that Gotsumon are made of rock?"

* * *

"Well," Tailmon said when the tale had been related in its entirety, "it will do no good." She shrugged, and took another full bite of the fish upon her plate.

"What will do no good?" her partner questioned.

The feline digimon swallowed her mouthful before she continued. "Imprisonment," she answered. "I don't think it will convince Taichi that he's wrong." She shrugged again. "If anything, I think it will strengthen his convictions."

"Why do you think that?" Wormmon asked.

"Because," Tailmon answered in between bites of food, "he's stubborn. He's got a head as hard as a Gotsumon. If you tell him he's wrong, he will be determined to prove he is not. He will not simply change his mind."

Hikari sighed. "You are right, I know," she agreed, "and yet what other choice was there? My father has the same stubbornness, and I don't think Taichi has done anything to change his mind. He can hardly throw him into prison, and yet nor can he tolerate such dissent."

"He would have to name a new heir," Ken said quietly, thoughtfully.

"Which," Tailmon inserted, "would seem to be a rather dramatic step. It's not as though he's actually _aided_ a traitor, he's only questioned the declaration of one."

"A small step away, though," he noted, and Tailmon nodded in assent.

"True. From his perspective, best to end rebellion immediately, before it becomes something worse." She shrugged again, took a long gulp of her drink.

"Is that what this is?" Hikari asked, somewhat alarmed. "Rebellion?"

"Not outright," Ken replied, "but disagreement is the first step."

"Again," Tailmon noted, "a short step. How long before disagreement becomes more physical?"

"It depends," Wormmon commented, "on how many disagree. On how powerful the demise of a martyr."

"Martyr?" Hikari asked, even more alarmed. "Do you think it will come to that?"

A solemn, grim silence fell over the table. Tailmon took another gulp of her drink from the polished glass cup. Wormmon looked down at the table with a grim expression. Ken sighed.

"I don't know," he admitted, "but it seems that it might."

Another silence fell over the table, as all contemplated the grim future. At long last, Tailmon set down her now empty glass. "In any case," she went on, "regardless of any political implications, I believe your friend's life is likely still in danger. Or do you suppose this Bandit is watching her every move?"

"Sora is likely with her," Hikari replied. "We agreed that Miyako should not be left alone for long."

Tailmon frowned, as though she were not thrilled with this. "I know," Ken agreed, "she is not much protected. Perhaps I…."

Before he could continue, there was a solid knock upon the door, and it opened immediately to the sight of a guard, dressed in the impeccable uniform of those assigned to the palace. "Ichijouji?" he asked.

Ken hesitated for a brief instant before he said, "Yes?"

"You've been allotted time for visitation. Please, come with me."

"Of course," he replied. He stretched out his arm and allowed his partner to climb to his shoulder, and then got to his feet. "I hope you'll excuse me, Princess."

Hikari nodded. "Please, can you tell him…tell him…." She fumbled with her words, uncertain of quite what she wished to say. "I…wish him well."

She thought that she detected a faint bit of amusement in his eyes, though it was not easy to tell. He bowed slightly and turned to leave. "I shall pass on the message, your highness," he replied, and then was gone.

* * *

The dungeons were much as Ken expected them to be. High stone walls were lined with heavy iron doors, each shut quite securely with several locks and bolts. As he followed the guard down the hall, their footsteps echoed in the empty space. It was dark and silent, lit only by evenly spaced torches upon the wall.

"It's unusual for his majesty to allow visitors," the guard commented as they walked. "He must like you. Or did you give him some other reason?"

"I haven't any idea," Ken replied honestly.

"Well," the guard said with a shrug, "it's not for me to question." At some point in the long hall, he stopped.

"You're allotted half of an hour," he explained as he fumbled through the key ring for the correct one. "I will stand out here for the entirety of the time. When the time is up, I'll knock on the door. I'll wait another minute after that and then I'll open the door to release you. Understand?"

Ken nodded, and so, having located the correct key, the guard now stepped forward. He inserted the first key into a lock above the door's handle and turned. A loud click and thud signaled that it was open, and the guard moved on to the next lock, slightly below the handle, and repeated the process. Finally, a large beam which had been laid across the door had to be moved aside, and then the handle was turned and the heavy door was opened (with assistance from the guard's partner Gotsumon) with a loud squeaking sound.

With a deep breath, Ken straightened his shoulders and stepped through the doorway into the tiny cell. He could see almost nothing, for it was even dimmer within than it had been in the outside hall. A distant window let through the faded sunlight, but there was no other light. As he stood, acclimating himself to the space, the heavy door shut loudly behind him, startling him.

"It's so…," Wormmon said in a quiet voice, and even this quiet voice seemed loud in the tiny, empty space.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" came the voice of V-mon, and now both boy and partner looked down to see that the blue digimon and his partner were on the ground, scarcely two steps away.

Ken took the two steps and sank down to the floor. A thin layer of dirt, dust, and possibly blood covered this surface. Daisuke appeared only half awake, but he made some effort to sit up.

"So," he said, "you're here, too." His voice sounded hoarse and his throat dry. Even in the dim light, Ken could see the bruises forming upon his cheek.

"Temporarily," Ken replied. "I was granted visitation. What did they do to you? It's not even been a whole day yet."

"Oh, lots of fun things," Daisuke answered lightly. "Granted visitation? Why did you ask for it? Won't it raise suspicion?"

"I didn't ask. It was offered. You're bleeding."

"Yeah, lots of places," came the answer, as though it was of no concern. "What do you mean, offered?"

"Stop asking questions," Ken scolded, "and let me clean some of you up. I'll tell the whole story. I don't have a lot of time, you know."

As he spoke, relaying all that had happened since they had last spoken, Ken tore off a bit of cloth from his shirt. He dunked some of it into the water and, with surprisingly gentle hands, cleaned the blood from his friend's face. As he told the story, first of his meeting with Taichi and the conversation after Daisuke had been taken, Ken gently pulled away the bits of tattered tunic that had stuck in half-dried blood to his back. He wiped aside the blood from the unscarred places and carefully staunched the cuts which were still bleeding.

So enraptured was Daisuke in the story of the prince's conversation with the King that he barely felt the touch of cloth upon his wounds. Ken wondered if it was exhaustion or pain which kept him silent, for though he was obviously interested, Daisuke did not interrupt at any point to comment or ask for clarification.

"He wanted me to tell you," Ken said, "that Taichi would not save you."

"I did not expect him to," Daisuke replied with no concern. "I didn't think he'd be of any help at all. I didn't think he'd do as much as he has."

"Nor did I," Ken admitted. "I suppose I got through to him." Having finished his task as best he could with only torn bits of cloth and somewhat dirty water, he frowned now and said, "I don't know that _I_ can save you."

"I'm not expecting you to, either," he answered with a shrug. "It's dangerous enough breaking into a prison in Motomiya or another village. In the palace, directly beneath the King? You'd have a hard time even if you had an army of wizards. You don't even have one."

Ken sighed. "I was asked to give you another message," he reported.

"From who?"

"From the princess," he replied. "She asked me to tell you that she wishes you well."

* * *

For approximately the seven thousandth time, Taichi reached the edge of the small balcony, turned on his heel, and walked back into his bedroom. It was a beautiful day outside, and he could hear the giggles of several young ladies as they passed beneath his window. It seemed as though nearly everyone was outside in the gardens.

He reached the door which lead out of his bedroom, the door through which he was not allowed to pass, and turned again to walk back to the balcony. He watched his shoes as they silently thudded along the soft, plush carpet. His mind was empty, his thoughts having vanished quite some time ago. All there was to think about the situation, he had thought and re-thought several times.

And so he paced. Upon the edge of the bed, Agumon sighed loudly. "How are you going to make it through three days of this?"

Taichi didn't answer. He had thought the same question himself, already, and come to no conclusions.

"Are you going to spend the whole time pacing?"

He ignored this question, for he didn't know the answer, and went on walking. With a solid click, his heels met the stone balcony. He paused, at long last, at the railing, and looked out at the world beyond. In the distance, a group of young men and women were engaged in some sort of game with a small ball. Their laughter could be heard even from here. Taichi squinted at the group, and wondered if any of those he called friends were amongst them. He wondered if they had learned of his actions that morning, and if they would wish to continue friendship when they did.

He wondered if any of that mattered anymore.

Agumon sighed again and rolled on to his back, studying the ceiling. "It might be a bit more bearable if you'd consider the benefits of conversation," he said to his partner.

"I don't have anything to talk about," Taichi replied.

"Nothing at all?" Agumon asked. "You don't want to talk about the fact that there are two armed guards outside the door who would be perfectly willing to slice you in half if you tried to get past them?"

"I don't think they would."

"Oh? I think they would. They don't get to point those sharp swords at anyone very often, so I think that if you gave them a reason, they'd be quite happy about using them."

Taichi didn't find this joke particularly amusing. He said nothing, but went on watching the distant game between those in the garden. He could not clearly see any of them, but a brief flash of a certain color made him wonder if Sora was with them. It looked a bit like her hair.

He sighed, turning away from the view, and returned to the bedroom. Agumon, still upside down upon the bed, watched as he crossed the room toward one of the tall bookshelves and studied the volumes.

There was a brief, light tap upon the door that he wondered if he imagined. After a moment, it sounded again, and he called, "Come in."

It was Hikari, his sole permitted visitor, who now entered the room, a rather concerned expression upon her face. Having selected a book, Taichi turned to face her. "I was thinking," he said, optimistically, "that I would use this time to catch up on some reading."

She appeared skeptical of his attitude, he could see it in her face, and yet she voiced no disagreement, but shrugged. "I'm glad to see you haven't gone crazy with boredom, at least," she replied. "If you are too busy, I can come back later…."

"No," he interrupted with a frown. "Do I look busy?"

"I would not wish to disturb your reading," she replied sweetly, and Taichi frowned now more seriously in her direction, which somehow convinced her to stop teasing. "All right," she said, and then stepped forward to sit in one of the mostly-empty armchairs.

Taichi had never been known for his cleanliness in regards to his personal chambers. His bedroom furniture was littered with books and clothing. The chair that his sister now chose had a jacket draped over the back, which she chose to ignore. He took a pile of papers from another chair and then sat opposite her.

"I was thinking," he said, "about who could have gone to Father last night." He frowned. "It was most likely one of the people who were there." As he spoke, he counted off on his fingers, "Yamato, Takeru, Miyako, Sora. I don't want to think that it could have been one of them, but…."

"…the evidence points that way, doesn't it?" she concluded, with a sigh. "I know. Any ideas about who was responsible for that attack in the gardens?"

He shook his head. "No. I've given up thinking, since it's led me to no conclusions." He sighed again. "In the meantime, I think safety should be _your_ main concern."

"I have done nothing which might be even the slightest bit dangerous," Hikari assured him in a voice which held perhaps too much innocence. "Ken and Sora have vowed to never allow Miyako to stray terribly far from either of them, and Yamato and Takeru have been hanging around as well. If that stranger attacks again, she'll at least have a bit of defense."

"Does she have any clue about why she's been so targeted?"

"No," she replied, shaking her head. "None at all. It could be an enemy of Lord and Lady Inoue that they have not admitted to having. If that's the case, well…."

"Hmm," Taichi answered thoughtfully. There was silence for a few moments.

"Ken has been to see Daisuke," Hikari said then. "Father offered him visitation."

"Offered it?" he echoed, in confusion, which shortly turned to an understanding frown. "To serve as a warning."

"A warning?" she asked.

He nodded. "To deter further rebellion. If Ken was thinking of defending Daisuke, the sight of the dungeons might discourage him."

"Or the sight of Daisuke," Hikari added quietly.

"That bad?"

"From what Ken says," she replied with a slight shiver, "it's not good. It's only been a day."

"Hmm," he said again, and frowned. "He hasn't given a name, has he?"

"I don't think so," Hikari answered. "I believe we would know if he had."

* * *

As the sun prepared to sink, Miyako sat beside a large table and set a card down upon the pile. "Ha!" she said triumphantly, with a wide grin, and turned toward Takeru. "Do you have any twos?"

He grinned pleasantly, an expression in direct opposition to the sleepy frown of his partner, who napped atop his head. "I'm afraid I don't," he replied. "Go fish."

Grumbling to herself, Miyako dejectedly took the next card from the pile and rearranged those still within her hand. For a few moments, there was silence, and then Yamato tapped Ken, who was sitting beside him.

"Your turn."

"Oh, right, sorry," Ken said, snapping himself out of his thoughtful state of mind to return to his cards. He stared blankly at them for a moment and then asked of his neighbor, "Any Queens?"

With a shrug, Yamato removed the requested card from his hand and handed it over. Ken once more studied his cards.

"Threes?" he asked, to which Yamato shook his head, in the midst of a yawn. Ken drew a ten of spades from the pile and returned to his thoughts of subjects unrelated to card games. This was not particularly how he wished to spend his evening, but what choice did he have? Failing to participate would only have drawn suspicion toward himself. Though Daisuke had assured him he would not reveal any secrets, Ken was not so optimistic. Far lesser information had been exposed with the aid of torture.

Takeru now cleared his throat, and Ken turned his mind back to the game long enough to hear Takeru repeat his request for a ten. He removed his most recent acquisition from the collected pile and handed it over.

"Any fives?" Takeru asked.

"Go fish," he replied. Upon the chair beside him, Wormmon yawned.

"Do you not think there might be something else we should be doing?" Sora asked. She was not involved in the card game, as she was not a fan of it, and had instead been sitting upon the window seat some distance away, engaging in the pastime of embroidery and occasionally studying the outside world. Her partner Piyomon was sleeping, or at least half-sleeping, beside her.

"Probably," Yamato replied, passing a three to Miyako.

"What else is there to do?" Takeru wondered. "We don't know who the enemy is or what his objective is. We've already thought over every possibility and come to no conclusions. What point is there to worrying about it more?"

"Ken, do you have any fours?" Miyako asked, quite pleased about her own luck with the game. He passed over the card, which pleased her even more.

"A good point," said the older brother, "but it seems unjust to enjoy ourselves when others are suffering."

"There is always _someone_ suffering," Miyako pointed out, setting down her latest pair. "We can't all suffer just because of that."

"Exactly," Takeru said in agreement.

"Do you have any tens?" she asked, and he shook his head, which immediately destroyed her good mood. She groaned loudly and took another card from the pile.

"You do know it's only a game, right?" Yamato asked, which only caused her to frown severely in his direction as the others giggled.

The door opened without a knock, and Jun entered. All giggling halted abruptly, and a somewhat awkward silence enveloped the room.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your game," Jun said with a faint smile that did not appear to be insincere. "My father has asked to see you." She was looking toward Ken as she spoke.

He set down his cards. "Why?"

"I do not know," she replied. "He did not say, and I did not question."

"I'm afraid you'll have to start the game over," Ken said in apology as he got to his feet, taking his nearby, half-asleep partner in his arms.

This statement did not please Miyako, who immediately turned toward Sora, who had been peering out of the window with some interest as she worked upon her task. "Oh, Sora, you can play, right?"

Looking away from both the window and her sewing, Sora shook her head. "No, thanks," she replied, and in the moment she turned her head, a dark shadow appeared at the window. Miyako, still looking in that direction, let her mouth hang open and her eyes grow wide.

Jun, still hovering near the doorway as she waited for Ken, glanced toward Sora as well and saw the dark figure just as he opened the window. Instinctively, she screamed, "Look out!"

Sora turned and then immediately slid down from the window seat, landing upon the floor. Unlike Jun, she did not scream, but she crawled backward on her hands, retreating. The intruder stepped into the room, shattering the glass, onto the seat she had where she had been sitting a moment before. The embroidery fell to the floor. Piyomon, waking from sleep, chirped in alarm and took to the air.

Yamato cursed, almost inaudibly low, and got to his feet, drawing his ever-present sword. "Sora, get back," he ordered unnecessarily, as she had already done so, and he rushed forward, crossing the short distance across the room with his weapon out.

The intruder drew his own weapon, and Yamato stepped forward in time to cross swords. At the same time, Piyomon took advantage of the distraction and flew quickly toward her partner. Takeru took hold of Miyako by the hand and pulled her back from the table, toward the wall. Jun, near enough to Ken to seek him out, slipped behind him, grabbing onto his arms with both her hands.

"I could use…some help!" Yamato shouted, for it seemed that his own fighting abilities were not particularly well-matched against the stranger. Takeru frantically looked around, and then saw, at last, a poker resting beside the fireplace. It was a long, metal stick with a sturdy wooden handle, and though it would not be quite as effective as a sword, it would serve the purpose well enough.

"Stay back," he said to Miyako, and ran forward. The intruder stepped back in order to avoid his first swipe, but came out swinging in response, and Takeru had to move quickly, and duck in order to avoid the blade.

Ken found his attention drawn from the battle as Miyako joined Jun in the space behind him. "Why are you hiding behind me?" he demanded of both of them.

"You're the best shield available," Jun replied easily. "So don't jump into the fight, all right?"

Sora, meanwhile, had recovered enough from the surprise of the intruder's entrance to grab another of the metal pokers and rush into the fight. With three opponents, it seemed that the intruder was no longer destined for victory.

"What do we do? What do we do?" Miyako asked, gripping tightly to his arm. "Oh, what do we do? He's…."

"Run," Ken decided at long last. He turned, grabbing each girl's hand in his own, and pulled them both from the room. The digimon hastened to follow.

"Where are we going?" Miyako asked.

"Don't know," he answered honestly, "but we need to go."

"Is there somewhere we could hide?" she asked.

"I don't know."

"Do you think they'll be able to stop him?" Jun questioned.

"I don't know," he said again.

"Where do we go?" Miyako asked.

"The kitchen," Wormmon declared from his spot upon his partner's shoulder.

"Good idea," Jun agreed. "There'll be no one here that time of night."


	8. Evidence

EVIDENCE

"In here," Yamato suggested. Still holding on to his injured left arm with his good hand, he pushed open the heavy wooden door with his shoulder. Takeru followed after him, carrying a lantern in his hand. He swung it back and forth as he walked, shining the light into the dark corners of the room.

The kitchen was indeed mostly empty. Along the opposite wall, four large fire pits were cold and bare. To the right were a row of sinks, ready to be filled with hot, soapy water for washing. In the center of the large room were long, tall wooden counters with knives, pots, and pans ready for the food preparation that would undoubtedly begin quite soon.

Ken was leaning against one of the counters. Miyako was lying beside him on one side, and Jun on the other, leaned against the wall. Ken himself did not look quite far from sleep.

"All's clear," Yamato said in greeting, taking the lantern from his brother. He removed his good hand from his arm, and the bloody bandage tied about it was now clearly visible.

"You're hurt," Ken observed, rising to his feet and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "What happened?"

"It's nothing," the older one replied with a shrug. "We managed to drive off the intruder, and this," he gestured to his arm, "was the only injury."

"Now you know how the Dark Bandit feels," Takeru joked as he bent to wake the girls.

* * *

"The only way that we were able to fend them off," Sora confessed when all had returned to the small parlor, "was with the help of our partners."

Jun had gone, shakily, back to her own bedroom to get some sleep. Miyako had slumped into the couch and was already letting her eyes fall shut. She did not seem to be long in returning to sleep.

"Of course," Piyomon agreed proudly, fluffing her feathers.

Ken sank down into one of the armchairs, his own eyes already feeling heavy with sleep. "It's lucky," he mumbled, "that no one else was hurt."

"It was," Takeru said in agreement. He took one of the table chairs, turned it about, and sat down on it backwards. "I've never seen one so strong, he must have been magically-enhanced."

"That's one possibility," Yamato grumbled. He began, one armed, to untie his makeshift bandage. It was not an easy task, and Sora stepped forward to help him. He submitted to the nursing without complaint. "What I want to know is where was that Dark Bandit who says he's supposed to be helping her?" He gestured toward Miyako with his free hand.

"I imagine he's someone else at times," his brother pointed out with a shrug. "He can't always be on duty."

"And we did intend to _help_ him," Sora added. She removed the bloody rag and peered closely at the wound. "You'll have to see the doctor about this, you know."

"Maybe," Patamon suggested from his usual perch, "he knew that _we_ could handle it."

"Well, he was almost wrong, then," Gabumon pointed out. "It took six of us to drive off the intruder, not to defeat him."

"If I remember right," Yamato recalled as Sora dabbed at his injury with a fresh, clean cloth, "the Dark Bandit didn't have much better luck than I did."

"So he's a good fighter, on top of being strong," Takeru concluded with a shrug. Anything further he might have said on the subject was interrupted by a yawn, shortly thereafter mirrored by his partner.

"I suppose we ought to get some sleep," Yamato said, noting his brother's state of mind. "It _is_ late."

"And leave Miyako alone?" Takeru asked, gesturing toward the girl in question. She had already fallen to sleep upon the couch. "What if the intruder returns?"

Yamato glanced toward Ken for his opinion, and saw that he, too, had fallen to sleep. He was still sitting in the armchair, head leaning back upon the cushions. Takeru, following his brother's gaze, shrugged in agreement, a small chuckle escaping his lips.

"I think he might have the right idea."

"Yeah," the older brother agreed with a similar shrug. "All right. We can camp out here."

Sora finished tying the clean cloth around his arm. "I'll go and find some extra blankets," she offered.

"Should we move him?" Gabumon asked, following his partner's gaze across the room. Yamato shrugged.

"All right," he agreed, nodding toward his brother. Takeru got to his feet, and together, the two managed to move him to the floor. After a moment, Sora returned with a blanket and pillow. Through it all, Ken went on sleeping as though nothing had happened.

"He looks so exhausted," Patamon observed.

"Yeah," Sora agreed, "as though he hasn't sleep in weeks. I wonder what keeps him up at night."

"I bet he's worried about Daisuke," Piyomon suggested.

"Could be," she replied.

* * *

It was unusually bright in the dingy cell when the sun rose in the morning. Daisuke awoke to find the light shining directly into his eyes. He felt stiff and achy all over, partially the result of sleeping on the hard stone floor. With some effort, he sat up, and rubbed his eyes with his hands, spreading more of the dust and grime on his face along with the dried blood. His nose was aching, but thankfully did not seem to be broken.

"Do you think we'll get to eat today?" V-mon mumbled grumpily as he sat up. He, too, was half-covered in dust, making him look more gray than blue. Mornings in general did not please him much.

"I wouldn't count on it," Daisuke replied. He had not thought much of food since the day before. The pain in his body had far outweighed any pains in his stomach. His partner, however, had completely different thoughts.

The water in the small pool was far from clean now, as it, too, had been tainted by the dirt and grime in the room. Blood had been mixed in it, as well, giving it a rather muddy appearance. Thirst was demanding, though, and so Daisuke took a bit of it into his hands and sipped. The taste was not pleasant, but nor was it unbearable. V-mon looked over the pool and decided he wasn't thirsty. He stared into the filthy water for a few moments before the sound of his partner gasping in pain distracted him.

"Still hurts," Daisuke mumbled, pulling away from the wall. He had almost forgotten about the bruising on his back, but the touch of hard stone against his skin had reminded him.

"How much longer?" V-mon asked, stepping away from the small pool, closer to his partner. "How much more time do you think we have?"

"I don't know."

There was a long silence. V-mon doodled in the dust upon the floor. Daisuke stared toward the source of the sunlight, far above, and wondered what was going on in the world outside. After some unknown amount of time had passed, the door creaked open and two guards and their partners entered the tiny cell.

The Gotsumon went immediately to V-mon and pulled him aside, against which the small digimon struggled but had no success. Half-asleep and aching with pain, Daisuke offered no resistance to the human guards, who grabbed his arms and hoisted him to his feet. He expected that fresh pain would soon be experienced, and he would need his strength to survive that.

He expected the shackles that they now placed upon his wrists, but he did not expect that his arms would now be bound behind him, and he had not predicted the stiff, leather collar that they now fastened around his neck. His mind was still mulling over the possibilities when a sharp tug upon the chain fastened to the collar urged him forward. Behind him, he could hear his partner's voice as V-mon protested being left behind, and the cell's door slammed shut loudly in the empty hallway.

They traveled only a short distance down the corridor before halting at another sturdy door. The room beyond was only slightly larger than the cell they had left. There were no windows, no furniture, and no other occupants. The sole defining feature was a square pool of water which sat in the center of the room and left only a short space on all sides between the walls.

One of the guards drew a short knife from his belt, and with a few quick swipes cut the shirt that his prisoner had been wearing from his back. It fell to the ground in tattered rags, for that which had not been shredded by the whiplashes had been used as makeshift bandages. The blood soaked pieces lay upon the floor, and Daisuke peered down at the sight, for the first time clearly seeing how much blood he had so far spilled.

During his preoccupation with such matters, the guards completed his disrobing, and Daisuke now found himself wearing nothing but the chains he was bound in. Attached to his collar was now a long chain, and the guards had walked around the edge of the pool to stand on the opposite side. Feeling the sharp tug, Daisuke stumbled forward and stepped into the water.

It was warmer than he had expected, almost too warm, and he would have liked to enter into the water slowly and cautiously, gradually acclimating himself to the temperature. The guards had no such sympathy, however, for one of them yanked sharply upon the lead again, and he stumbled forward.

There was a step beneath his feet, and he now sank deeper into the water, so that he was standing waist deep. The water felt hotter now, and he instinctively tried to step backward, but instead the guards tugged on the chain and he stumbled now down another drop to find himself standing in shoulder-deep water. It was almost unbearably hot, and Daisuke now gritted his teeth and let out a small gasp of alarm as the water met the wounds upon his back

"A little further," one of the guards said, and Daisuke found himself tugged forward once more. Here, the water was even deeper, rising above his head. He struggled for air in the dark, hot water, and found none. He tried to rise to the surface, but his arms were chained, and swimming was nearly impossible. After what seemed like hours, he felt another tug upon his collar and was yanked forward by his neck. His feet moved to follow after, and one of his toes slammed into the step in front of him. The pull upon his neck grew stronger now, and his other foot somehow found the top of the step and was able to propel him upward, to the surface.

Rising into the air, Daisuke gasped for breath, coughing up unwillingly swallowed water. Distantly, through the sound of splashing water in his ears, he could hear laughter between the guards.

"Again," said one of them, and Daisuke suddenly felt his head jerked back in the direction he had come from. Prepared this time, he took a gulp of air before his head went under, but the time below the surface felt longer, and he nonetheless still gasped and coughed for air when he was allowed to breathe once more.

"That lack of air," one of the guards said then, "is what it feels like to die. You should get used to it." He laughed, and that was the last sound that Daisuke heard before he was once more dunked under the water.

* * *

The sun had barely risen when Ken awoke, the room still dim and quiet. He sat up slowly from his spot upon the floor, feeling a bit dazed and confused. He did not recall falling asleep.

He was not the only one who had slept on the floor of the parlor. A short distance from him lay Takeru, still asleep, his partner resting upon his stomach. Yamato also slept nearby, and Sora had curled up in the corner. On the couch, Miyako had apparently already awakened, for she was sitting up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and yawning widely. Before long, she spotted Ken.

"Oh," she said, finishing up her yawn. "Good morning, I suppose. I don't remember falling asleep here. Last thing I remember is being in the kitchen."

"You fell asleep there, too," he explained, "and then we walked back here. I guess we fell asleep here again."

"What happened to Jun?" Miyako wanted to know. "Is she all right?"

"I think I remember that she went back to bed in her own room," Ken replied. Now it was his turn to yawn. "I suppose I should get some fresh clothes." Slowly, he got to his feet, taking care not to step on his closest neighbors, still asleep.

"Yeah," she agreed, looking down at her own clothes, which had been quite wrinkled in the night. "I suppose I should, too." She stood, and made a faint attempt at flattening the many wrinkles in her skirt. "Will you join me for breakfast?"

Halfway to the door, Ken paused at the question, as though he were not sure how to respond. He turned back after a moment, but said nothing. "We'd love to," Wormmon finally said, from his partner's arms, and Ken nodded in agreement. Miyako smiled, and he wondered if she was trying not to laugh.

* * *

When he was finally returned to his cell, Daisuke was dressed in fresh clothing of an off-white tunic and loose fitting trousers. The leather collar was still around his neck, but the guards released the chains upon his arms as they released his body from their grasp, allowing him to fall sharply to the floor.

"Daisuke!" V-mon called in alarm. As soon as the Gotsumon had released him, he rushed forward to his partner.

"I'm all right," Daisuke assured him as the two embraced. The small digimon looked up when a small drop of water fell upon him, and saw that his partner's hair was dripping wet.

The sound of something clattering upon the stone floor distracted him before he could ask the question of what had happened. Both looked up in time to hear the heavy door slam shut as the guards departed, and notice a small wooden bowl upon the floor.

"What is it?" V-mon wondered, and hesitantly stepped forward. The bowl was filled with a strange substance, neither liquid nor solid. It was a bland gray color, with no obvious odor. He sniffed at it for a moment, and then carried it the short distance to his partner, a questioning look upon his face.

"That's food, I think," Daisuke explained. "I guess the technical term you're looking for would be gruel."

The blue digimon wrinkled his nose. "We're supposed to eat it?"

"It's probably the only food we'll get."

* * *

There were not many people present in the bright, sunlit hallway at mid-morning when Ken and Miyako arrived there. Nearly all of the palace's current residents were already eating, finished eating or not yet awake. There was, however, one familiar face.

"You are rather late in the day for breakfast, aren't you?" Hikari said in greeting. "I slept in a bit, myself."

"So did we," Miyako replied. "There was an intruder last night."

"An intruder?" the princess echoed in alarm as they entered a small, somewhat private dining area off the main hallway. "I hope no one was hurt."

"Nothing serious," Miyako assured her. "It seems it was the same one that attacked us in the garden, and probably the same as in Takenouchi-Inoue." She sighed. "I wonder if perhaps I ought to return home. I'm putting so many in danger simply by being here."

"I don't think that would be any safer," Ken pointed out.

"No," Hikari agreed, "I don't think so either. Please, tell me more about this intruder. Did the Dark Bandit come and help you defeat him?"

"No," Miyako answered. "Ken, Jun, and I escaped to the kitchen while the others battled. Between them all, they managed to drive him off, though Yamato was hurt. It doesn't seem to be serious, though."

"Well, we can be glad, at least, that no one else was hurt," Hikari said then in a rather optimistic tone.

* * *

The gruel was edible, though tasteless. Somehow, Daisuke had managed to eat a sizeable share of it, motivated only by the fact that the hunger pangs in his stomach were almost growing strong enough to rival the pains in the rest of his body. When he had finished, he was far from full, but no longer starving.

"Well," V-mon said when he had finished his own share, "it could have been a lot worse."

"How so?" Daisuke asked, sipping a bit of the water from the small pool. It was dirty, but it served well enough to ease the dryness in his throat.

"It could have tasted _bad_."

* * *

"No," Yamato said as he reached for a slice of bread across the small table. "It'll be fine. There's no need."

"I disagree," said Sora, seated beside him. She set down her glass of fruit juice. "It looked like a very serious injury to me."

He shrugged, mouth filled now with bread. "It doesn't hurt anymore."

"It could be infected," Takeru pointed out. He was seated on the other side of his brother.

The three had apparently awakened and made their way to the same breakfast parlor. Though Ken, Miyako, and Hikari had nearly finished eating, they had remained, mostly for conversation. Yamato had regaled them with a retelling of the fight from his own perspective, with occasional interruptions and corrections from Sora and his brother.

"All three of you were very lucky," Hikari declared, mostly to stop the ensuing argument, "to take on such a dangerous opponent and survive. In order to ensure your luck continues, I think it would be for the best to have the doctor look at that as soon as possible."

Though he obviously was not in complete agreement, Yamato sighed. "As you wish, princess," he mumbled grumpily as he swallowed his mouthful, much to the amusement of his brother.

"He's growing braver," she went on with a sigh, "attacking inside the palace, don't you think?"

She had glanced toward Ken at the conclusion of this statement, and he nodded in solemn agreement. "It would seem so," he replied. Takeru silenced his giggling, suddenly becoming concerned.

"Don't you think that we should tell the King, then?" he asked. "It's a security concern, isn't it?"

A silence fell over the group. "I don't know," Yamato said then, "if he would do anything. He didn't seem very concerned when we were attacked in the gardens, did he?"

Again, there was silence, as no one could dispute this fact. "So what do we do?" Takeru asked.

Before anyone could reply, there was a quiet noise from nearby. Three guards, sharply dressed in their official uniforms, had entered the small dining room. All conversation halted. Yamato, halfway through a gulp of his drink, swallowed and set down his glass.

"I beg your pardon," said the center guard, apparently the leader, "but his majesty requests your presence at once."

"Mine?" Hikari wondered, for exactly who he was addressing was not clear.

"All of you, ma'am," he replied.

* * *

The great throne room was not empty, but nor was it filled to its maximum capacity. The usual clerics were there, but in smaller number than was common. A few ladies and lords also milled about, perhaps waiting for the King's attention. A low hum of conversation was ever present, and at the head of the room sat the King, stately upon his throne.

He was dressed as always in fine attire, in well-polished leather boots, freshly cleaned trousers, the whitest white shirt, and a regal red and blue jacket trimmed with gold thread. Ken imagined that the smile upon his face was smug and satisfied as he spoke to one of the clerks. He laughed, apparently finding something amusing, and then waved the boy aside.

"Please, come this way," said the guard who had led them to the room, and Hikari followed after, the rest of the small group following her. A short distance from the throne, he raised an arm, halting any further advance.

The King noted the presence of his daughter and the others and got to his feet, silencing all those within. "Bring him in," he said in a booming voice, and the room erupted in mumbled whispers.

"What do you think is going on?" Takeru asked of anyone who would listen. No one had a good response. Patamon shrugged.

A set of doors along the side of the room then opened, and a squad of four guards entered. In the midst of the small crowd walked the Prince.

He was dressed in clothes far less fine than most of those present, only a simple tunic and trousers, but otherwise did not seem to be worse off after his brief imprisonment. He offered no resistance, but obediently followed his guards across the room and knelt before the throne.

The King nodded, satisfied, and sat down once again. "I wonder," he mused in a calm, quiet voice, "if you have learned your lesson, my son."

"It has only been a single day," Taichi replied, confusion evident in his voice. "I understood you wished the confinement to be three."

"Oh, it is not yet over," the King answered. "I have merely brought you here, brought you all here," and now he gestured toward the room and all those within it, his eyes briefly pausing upon Hikari, "to teach you something. I do hope you pay attention to this lesson."

This did nothing, so far as any present were concerned, to explain the circumstances. Taichi said nothing, but was obviously still confused as he followed his guards' wishes and moved aside. He was now no longer kneeling before his father, but now standing a short distance to the right of the throne. He looked toward his sister, who had been placed slightly to the left, and they met confused eyes.

There was a thud then as the large doors at the end of the room slammed loudly shut, and then the metallic clank of chains could be heard. Almost as one, the entirety of the room turned toward the sound, and then, again, erupted into chaotic whispers of alarm.

A pair of guards entered the room with a prisoner between them. One held a long, sharp spear in his hand, and the other a chain which stretched to a collar bound around the captive's neck. The room was filled with whispered mumbles and gasps of alarm.

"Daisuke!"

It was Hikari who spoke at an audible level, a cry of shock, and in response to his name, Daisuke briefly raised his head and met her eyes. Another wave of quiet gasps went up from all who saw his face, for he was quite visibly injured and bruised. At the sound of this noise, he bowed his head once more and looked away.

"It's been barely a day," Ken heard Yamato say in a low voice. "How much could they have done to him in only a day?"

"A lot, it would seem," Sora replied in an equally quiet voice.

The low whisper of voices continued as the guards and their prisoner walked up the center of the room, through the crowd. As they passed by, all present could clearly see the heavy chains which bound his wrists, and the blood which stained his thin tunic.

"Why?" Ken heard his partner whisper in his ear. Once more, Wormmon was gripping his shoulder with an almost painful strength. "Why bring him here?" He could only shake his head, for what the King's plan was, Ken had no idea.

At the end of the long walk, the guards halted before the throne. The one with the spear stepped forward, but Daisuke dropped down to his knees without any prompting, perhaps simply from exhaustion.

The quiet mumbles of shock faded into silence, and all waited for the King to say something. He did not speak, but nodded toward the guards surrounding Taichi. At this unspoken command, two of them took hold of the Prince by the arms and urged him forward.

Taichi had seen prisoners before, but never one with whom he had been personally acquainted, and never one who had been so tortured. He said nothing, but stared in wide eyed shock as the guards pulled him forward. A short distance from Daisuke, they halted, and then the one holding the spear stepped forward and lifted away the tunic which hid the many gashes upon the prisoner's back. Daisuke did not move but kept his eyes fixed upon the ground, his head still bowed low and his eyes away from all that was around him.

Another gasp went up among the crowd at the sight of the many wounds. Wormmon gripped his partner's shoulder with even more strength, enough to cause Ken to wince in pain. Miyako, who was standing beside him, turned her head away at the sight of the blood, and met his eyes briefly. He saw there confusion and worry, and knew that the thoughts of self blame were likely again swimming in her head.

"How…?" Takeru whispered, but could not finish his question.

"Do you see the price which must be paid by traitors, Taichi?" the King asked, his booming voice bringing silence to the onlookers.

"I see," the prince replied in a far quieter tone, his eyes still glued to the sight before him. "How could you do this?"

Again the crowd reacted, but Taichi ignored them. "How could you?" he asked, in a louder voice now. "How could you do this…how could you order anyone to do this? How could you even _allow_ this to happen?"

"This is the fate of a traitor," the King replied. "Take him around, make sure that everyone gets a good look."

The guards obeyed, the one who held the chain yanking sharply upon it. The one with the spear stepped forward and gripped hold of the prisoner's arm, pulling Daisuke to his feet.

"He is not the enemy," Taichi went on. "He is not the one you seek, he is not the one who has attacked innocents. Why do you make Daisuke suffer when the _real enemy_ is still out there?"

"This is the price paid by traitors," the King repeated. "Not only by those who commit crimes of treason, but by those who defend traitors, and by those who defend the defenders. Do you wish this fate to be your own?"

The guards led Daisuke through the crowd, allowing all present to get a good look at him, to clearly see the blood upon him. Though he would not meet their eyes, or raise his head, they could still easily make out the bruising and blood upon his face. None who were faced with him directly spoke, but whispers still fluttered through the rest of the crowd as the people reacted.

At long last, the guards halted in front of Hikari and the small crowd which surrounded her. Miyako took a step backward, gripping the arm of Sora, who stood beside her. No one else moved.

Hikari stepped forward, and the whispers within the rest of the room grew a bit louder now. She reached out with one hand, but contact was discouraged by the spear-wielding guard, who placed his weapon in the way. "Daisuke," she said again, once more in an ordinary voice and not a whisper. "I'm so sorry. This should not have happened."

He raised his head at the sound of her words, and once more met her eyes briefly before a tug upon his collar pulled him away, and he was led back to the feet of the King.

"This shall be the fate of all those who commit treason, who dare to foster rebellion in the hearts of my people," the King declared. He got now to his feet as he spoke and strode to the edge of the raised platform upon which the throne was situated. "There will be no tolerance for those who commit crimes. There will be no tolerance for those who aid criminals."

The room had gone completely silent. The only sound was of the King's boots as they clicked upon the polished marble floor. He stood before Daisuke, so that the tips of the King's shoes were now directly beneath the nose of his prisoner.

"There will be no tolerance," he said again, "for those who do not cooperate with the force of justice." He paused, and bent down now for a closer inspection. "Cooperate, and perhaps there may be mercy."

There was again silence in the room for a brief moment, and then quiet whispers began once more in the crowd of onlookers.

"Do you think he will…?" Sora wondered, in the quietest of voices. She had taken Piyomon into her arms and was now hugging her partner close to her chest.

"Do good for your country, for your family, for yourself," the King went on. "Give up the name of the traitor you protect." He rose once more, took a step backward. "Protect the security of our nation. Tell me, who is the Dark Bandit?"

The room fell quiet, all straining to hear what would be said, if anything. All eyes were upon Daisuke, who slowly lifted his head. They could see him take a deep breath, and look up, directly into the eyes of the King.

"I will not tell," he declared, and the silence ended.

There were gasps of shock, whispers of astonishment, and mumbles of surprise that filled the room. All present suddenly were overcome by the need to express their feelings upon the subject. The King, as well, expressed his own frustration. He stepped forward, and struck out with his right foot, solidly connecting the toe of his boot with the prisoner before him.

The noise in the space grew louder, the onlookers gradually conquering their fears and raising their voices above whispers. Daisuke fell backward upon the hard, cold marble, the shackles and chains on his wrists now clanking loudly upon the floor. Taichi struggled to move past his guards, who moved quickly to restrain him as well.

Hikari stepped forward, but got no further than a step before she felt a hand upon her arm. She turned back to see that it was Takeru who discouraged this action. He shook his head, and spoke a single word, inaudibly, "Don't." A tug upon her skirts made her glance down, and she saw now that Tailmon disagreed, and was urging her to step up.

"You have nothing to gain by protecting him!" the King declared, almost shouting now over the noise in the room, which softened at the sound of his voice. He held out his hand, and the guard who held the chain attached to the collar now passed it to the King. With a sharp tug, he yanked Daisuke once more upright. "Who is he?"

Daisuke did not speak this time, perhaps because his pain was too great, but he shook his head, and this action had the same effect.

"To defend the criminals is to defy me," the King went on. "To defy the King is treason. Who is this Bandit you defend? He is a criminal. He defiles the system of justice which has served this land for centuries."

"No," Daisuke said, and the King paused his rant to hear him speak. "No," he said in a louder voice now. "He is not."

"It's the truth," Hikari said then, and the crowd murmured in shock at the sound of her voice. "The Dark Bandit protected us all. He defended us all, myself and Taichi included, when we were in the gardens the other day. He defended Miyako, an innocent, in Takenouchi-Inoue. What criminal would defend innocents?"

"A criminal with complex motives," the King replied, "who wished to confuse his enemies. The Dark Bandit is responsible for freeing nearly three dozen criminals from the prison in Motomiya. He is responsible for grave injuries to more than half the guards stationed there. He has hindered the capture of many thieves and vagrants throughout this kingdom. What innocent would defend criminals?"

"None," he answered his own question. "Those who are innocent, those who are righteous, seek out criminals and fight against them. They do not aid those who have done wrong. They shun them and seek justice for their crimes. Those who aid a traitor," and here he turned back toward Daisuke, "are themselves traitors."

"Cowards," he went on, "wear the mask of anonymity to hide from justice. Show him to the world. Reveal this unknown bandit who walks amongst us, who may, perhaps, be within this room."

The crowd again erupted into shocked whispers, this time of alarm and fear, at the thought of such a dangerous unknown. So loud was this cacophony that it was barely possible to hear Daisuke answer, once more, "No."

Again, the King struck out with his heavy leather boot and kicked now with his full strength. Daisuke fell backward once more, this time sliding along the smooth floor. The chain slipped from the King's hand at the force of this backward motion, and clattered loudly upon the ground, echoing in the large room.

"No," Hikari gasped, and the room grew quiet again. She slipped away from the grasp Takeru had upon her and crossed the floor, her soft footsteps quickly scampering between the astonished guards, who did not hinder her movements, perhaps because they were so surprised.

She reached Daisuke and sank down upon her knees beside him. He was breathing heavily, the result of having the wind knocked out of him by the force of a powerful kick, and he squinted up at her through one eye which was so badly bruised as to be swollen half-shut. The princess hesitated but a brief moment and then reached out to him.

Somehow, he managed to rise up to sit once more. He winced at the feel of her touch upon the bruising on his cheek, but he did not pull away. "I'm sorry," he whispered, and she shook her head.

"No," she replied, and now she reached for his chin, lifting his eyes up from the floor, to meet her own. "I am sorry. You do not deserve this."

"Hikari…," the King said in a low but dangerous tone of voice, and now she turned to face her father.

"Do not hurt him anymore," she said, and her voice was no longer a quiet, ordinary sound, but a commanding tone befitting a princess. She looked back toward Daisuke, who was staring at her with a mixture of shock and bewildered amazement. "Do not give in. Do not betray those you have promised to protect." Wordlessly, he nodded.

"So," the King said above the sounds of the crowd, "both my children would turn traitor?"

"You are wrong," Hikari replied, and now she got to her feet, all eyes upon her. "We defy you, but we do not betray our people, and we do not betray our friends. Daisuke is an innocent. He protects his friends, as I will protect mine."

"Even if those friends should be criminals?"

"Even then," she answered. "I cannot allow you to continue to hurt him."

There was a brief silence in the room, as even the King knew not how to respond to this statement. The crowd erupted into rumbles of shock, and in the chaos of this confusion, Tailmon went to stand beside her partner. After a moment, Takeru stepped forward. All eyes were upon him as he crossed the space between the crowd and the Princess. He placed his hand upon the shoulder of his friend, and Daisuke looked up now at him in surprise.

"I will…also defend my friends," Takeru declared, much to the pleasure of his partner. Patamon was almost beaming with pride.

"Then I," Yamato stated, stepping forward, "will defend my brother."

The rumbles of the crowd grew even louder, as all within the room now offered some opinion on the matter to those standing closest to them. In the midst of this chaos, Daisuke felt another hand upon his shoulder, and he looked up to see that Ken was now standing at his side. He said nothing, for there was nothing which needed to be said aloud.

Miyako stepped forward, and Sora beside her. "The Dark Bandit saved my life," she said. "How could I not defend someone who works with him?"

The King stepped back, and sat upon his throne once more. Chaos was threatening to erupt. In the midst of the cacophony of voices, Taichi called out, "Do you not admit to some flaw in your idea of justice, Father?"

The room went quiet once more, and all listened to hear what the King would say to this. "I see a flaw indeed, my son," he replied. "You have spurned rebellion amongst your peers, true. Even your sister would defy me now. What plan do you have, then? Will you defeat your guards with only your bare hands, kill your own father, and take this throne in a pool of blood?"

Taichi did not answer, for he had no easy retort. The guards surrounding him were armed, and he was not, had not even his partner Agumon with him. Of those who would rebel, only Yamato was armed, and there were far more guards than could be possible to defeat even if each of them had carried swords. Daisuke had apparently been beaten fairly near to death, and was bound still in the chains of a prisoner. A fight would be no contest.

"It is only a matter of time," said another voice then, surprising them all. It was Ken who spoke, clearly above the whispers and low voices rumbling in the vast hall. "The reign of the King is subject to the will of the people. If they disagree, then by sheer numbers, they will oust him."

"Sheer numbers?" the King echoed. "You think you have the advantage of numbers? You think you will soon have many within your rebellion?" He laughed, amused by his own joke. "Even so, I have the greater strength."

As he spoke, a tall figure emerged from somewhere behind the throne. He was dressed only in a long, dark cloak. A gasp arose from all those present. Miyako took a step backward, halfway behind Ken, for she recognized this faceless man who had twice attacked her. "That's him…," she gasped, and the others came to the same conclusion simultaneously.

The figure walked slowly around the throne, to the front of the dais, and stood beside the King. The room was completely silent he removed his hood and was revealed to all to be not a human, but Leomon, the King's partner.

The room erupted into astonished mumbles yet again. "I should have known," Yamato muttered, clutching his injured arm with his hand. "He fought far stronger than a human should have been able to."

The King allowed the speculative conversations and astonished reactions to continue for some time. He strolled calmly back to his throne and sat, a smug and amused smile upon his face, watching the reaction of the crowd. Leomon stood, silent and powerful as always, apparently uninterested in the chaos around him. His eyes peered across the crowd, resting upon Miyako.

"H-he works for the King," she stammered, taking another step backward. "The…the King wants me dead?"

"No," Sora disagreed, reaching out to take her friend's arm in her own before she ran across the room. "If it was that simple, he would have…."

"He would not send an assassin," Ken finished when she faltered. "He is the King. Why would he send an assassin within his own palace?"

There was no easy answer to this question. "Well he did," Miyako finished, her voice wavering.

"To those who have declared rebellion," the King announced then, silencing the crowd in a single statement, "I shall show mercy, for now." As he spoke, the guards who had previously been stationed along the outer walls of the hall stepped forward. The crowd of onlookers moved back from the center of the room, leaving those who surrounded Daisuke to stand in the midst of an open, empty space.

The guards who had stepped aside and not interfered with the princess's action now moved forward. Each took hold of Daisuke by one arm and hoisted him to his feet once more.

"To those who have betrayed me, however…."

The King allowed the statement to hang ominously in the air. At the same time, the guards who had been standing over Taichi now took the prince by the arms, pulling him backward.

"No..!" Hikari said and reached forward. Another guard moved in front of her, and she turned now to direct her pleas toward the King. "Father, please."

He said nothing, and regarded her now with an expression of disinterest. His face showed no emotion, his eyes no sympathy for his child. They pulled Daisuke back now, and she struggled to move past the guard who blocked her way. "Daisuke…."

He, too, said nothing, and only briefly met her eyes with the same apologetic expression as before. She turned toward Taichi, who was fighting without success against his own guards. The small crowd made its way now through the side door, which slammed shut behind them. The sound echoed, even in the hall filled with people.

"Father, no," Hikari tried again. "Please. He has been through enough. Please, take me instead."

Curiously enough, this option seemed to intrigue the King. He held up a hand, halting the guards' further actions. They released their prisoner, and Daisuke now fell down upon his knees. For a moment, they stood still, awaiting further instructions.

Daisuke stared toward her with wide eyes. The crowd again erupted in astonished reactions.

"Hikari…," Takeru said, and took hold of her arm, hoping to discourage her. "Have you lost your mind?"

She shook off his concern and stepped forward, away from the crowd. "I am as guilty as anyone of betrayal," she declared. "I have made an ally of your enemy, Father, and I defend those you call traitors." She gestured now toward Daisuke with one hand. "He will not betray his friend. Torturing him further will be useless. Show some kindness to him, take me instead."

"No," Takeru disagreed. "Hikari, you can't…."

"I won't let another innocent be hurt," she replied, interrupting before he could finish his protest. "I think my crimes are greater."

"Very well," said the King, before any others could argue with her. He nodded, and the guards who had previously been assigned to Daisuke now stepped forward to take the princess into their custody. As they had with her brother, they each grabbed one of her arms.

Unlike Taichi, Hikari did not struggle, however, but submitted without objection. The noise of the crowd grew now to a dull roar, making it difficult to hear if anything was spoken. Another guard stepped forward to unlock the shackles that had bound Daisuke, but he scarcely noticed this action. His eyes were wide with astonishment, focused completely upon the princess who had defended him. All eyes in the room were similarly focused.

"Princess…," he said. "You don't have to do this…."

She only shook her head, though, and said nothing further as they led her from the room. The crowd noise grew quieter now, returning to the usual level found. Together, Ken and Takeru stepped forward, and helped Daisuke to his feet. He was only barely able to stand, and it took some amount of effort for him to take a few steps forward, even with their help. The guards nearby were obviously becoming impatient, however, as they were gesturing with their spears and moving in closer to the group.

Halfway out the door, the King's voice interrupted their progress with a booming command. "Ichijouji."

Daisuke turned toward Ken with a barely concealed expression of alarm, and all others appeared confused, but Ken betrayed no obvious emotion as he turned back toward the King. A single gesture beckoned him forward, and two of the guards moved in to escort. Yamato stepped up to aid Daisuke, who craned his neck over his shoulder even as they departed the throne room, the doors shutting behind them.

As he walked down the long room, an armed guard upon either side of him, Ken felt his partner's grip tighten even more. He knew with certainty now that he would have some bruising upon his shoulder, but could not blame Wormmon for feeling so tense and nervous.

The remainder of the crowd had returned to its ordinary state. Ken caught hints of conversations as he traveled amongst them, and although some were discussing the events which had transpired, others had returned to their normal business. Two clerks were discussing a pile of invoices, holding a large stack of papers between them, but they did briefly glance toward Ken as he went by. A small crowd of ladies, most of whom he was at least vaguely acquainted with, spoke quietly among themselves. Though he heard a few words regarding cloth and colors (the usual topics of conversation amongst women, he thought), it seemed as though there was far less giggling than might ordinarily be expected. They, too, glanced toward him briefly, and looked away when they sensed he might be aware of their attentions.

At the end of the long walk, the guards raised their spears to cross before Ken, as though he had harbored any intentions of attacking his majesty personally. Though he wondered how much custom and tradition would aid him if the King was somehow aware of the truth, he obediently knelt before the throne.

"Your brother," the King commented, "was a hero to his nation." He let the statement hang in the air for a moment, awaiting a reaction. Ken said nothing, and so he continued, "I could go on for quite some time about his many accomplishments and talents, but I fear I might bore you, and I am not in the mood to give compliments today."

Again, Ken said nothing, his eyes firmly fixed upon some undistinguished spot on the floor nearby. With a sigh, the King nodded now toward one of the clerks nearby, and the boy stepped forward with a small bit of paper, tied with a dark blue ribbon. "It was asked of me that I pass this correspondence on to you, and I do so because I recall that not all members of your family were defenders of treason."

The boy held out the scroll, and Ken took it. His eyes now showed a bit of curiosity, but he did not speak to ask the question of what it contained.

The King now made some barely noticeable gesture, at which the guards moved aside their spears. "It would appear that the Lord of Ichijouji, your father, has taken ill within the last few days," he said now.

"Ill?" Ken echoed blankly, speaking for the first time.

"A serious illness, from what I have been told," the King replied. "Keep that in mind should you decide to engage in further rebellion." He nodded toward the guards, who now stepped forward, closer to Ken. Understanding the command, he got to his feet. "You are nothing like your brother," the King said as he turned away, following the guards.

It seemed that Ken considered this for a brief moment, and then he shook his head in agreement. "No, sir," he replied. "I am not."


	9. Illumination

NINE

They were separated. Takeru could still hear his partner's mournful cries. The guards had used spears, swords, hands, and all manner of threats to separate each of them from their partners. Takeru had reached out for his partner, only to find his arms restrained by the guard. The more he'd struggled, the tighter they'd gripped him, and then Patamon had disappeared around the corner, crying out all the while for his partner.

Afterward, he was tossed backward, where he landed upon a surprisingly soft carpet. Barely had he time to get his bearings before another body was propelled into the room. Takeru was just sitting up when Miyako stumbled into the room, tripped over the edge of the rug and fell almost on top of him.

"Sorry," she apologized, and tried to get up, only to stumble more so that they were even more entangled. In the midst of this confusion, Sora and Yamato were also deposited into the room. It was some time before they managed to make sense of it all.

The room, Takeru saw when he emerged from the bottom of the pile, was a small, but comfortably furnished parlor. There were three different couches and a handful of armchairs scattered around the room, facing a small but beautifully made fireplace.

Yamato went to the door, and found it unsurprisingly locked. He sighed and slumped down against it, absently clutching his injured arm. There was a small bump growing on his forehead, the result of his struggles with the guards in the fight for his partner.

"You didn't think it would be open, did you?" Takeru questioned, to which the older brother did not respond.

"You're bleeding again," Miyako noted, as small drops of it were beginning to stain his shirt. He grumbled, and began to rip off a section at the bottom of his shirt to use as a bandage.

"Not as much as Daisuke," he replied, and now all eyes turned that way.

Since V-mon had been left within the dungeons, there was no one to separate him from, and he had been deposited within the room first. He had managed to stumble to the nearest couch without assistance, and was now sitting sideways, leaning against the back of it. He was breathing heavily, exhausted from the walk upstairs, and whatever horrors had happened to him before.

"I'll see if there's some water in the washroom," Sora said, and went immediately to the small door in the corner. Ordinarily, fresh water would be kept in such a room in order to provide for bathing and cleaning, but such a thing was not a certainty in this case, as they were held against their will.

Miyako sat upon another couch, shaking. "We're going to die, aren't we?" she asked.

"If we are," Yamato said as he got to his feet, "it probably won't be quick or he would have done it already." He had tied on his makeshift bandage with his teeth, and it was already beginning to stain with blood.

"Stop that," Sora scolded as she emerged from the washroom, a bucket of clean water in her hands. "Takeru, help me with this. We will not be killed. We haven't done anything offensive enough to warrant execution."

"The King seemed to think we had," Miyako pointed out.

"The King cannot simply act on what he wants," Yamato replied. He took the seat on the couch beside Daisuke. "If he executes all of us, he'll run the risk of upsetting quite a few people, and then, as Ken pointed out, he'll be outnumbered."

"Upsetting who?" Takeru asked, depositing the heavy bucket of water beside the couch.

"Well, our parents, firstly," his brother replied, "and then anyone whose help they'd be able to enlist." He shrugged. "Anyone else who thought that executing us was a bad idea."

Sora had located a number of cloths within the washroom, originally intended to be used for drying and washing. She carried these now into the room, to the couch, and dunked a few immediately into the bucket of water.

Yamato ripped aside the fabric of the tunic Daisuke wore, revealing once more the crisscrossed pattern of wounds upon his back, mixed in with purplish bruises. Some of them had begun to heal, but others were still bleeding.

"All that," Sora said quietly, "in one day." She handed one of the wet cloths to Yamato, who placed one gently upon the skin of his patient. Though his touch was light and soft, Daisuke gasped aloud, and then winced, squeezing his eyes shut.

"I have a feeling," Yamato said, "that it's not quite over yet." He sighed, gently dabbing against the blood.

"Not even close," Daisuke mumbled, gritting his teeth against the pain.

Miyako pulled her legs up onto the couch and hugged them against her. "Why?" she mumbled. "Why does he do this? Why?"

"He explained the part about the Dark Bandit," Takeru answered. He leaned against the back of the couch upon which Miyako was sitting. "I had no idea he'd done quite so much."

"Yes," Miyako agreed, "when you list it in that way, it doesn't sound like he's a good person." Again she shook her head. "And yet, he protected me. He protected all of us."

"And Daisuke protects him," Sora noted. She had moved around to the side of the couch, to face him, and was now holding another cool cloth against a particularly swollen spot near his eye.

"So the king's animosity toward Daisuke is explained," Takeru concluded, "but we are still completely clueless as to what anyone would have against Miyako."

"It doesn't make any sense," Yamato said. He pulled away a bit of cloth, refolding it to find a clean spot, and continued his work. "If the King wished her dead, why did he bother to send an assassin? Why did he not simply send his guards after her, drag her to the dungeons, and have her executed?"

Miyako shuddered at this description of her own fate. Sora cast Yamato a disapproving scowl. "Perhaps because he has no reason to do so," she said. "He couldn't simply pull her from her home and not encounter some resistance from her parents and from my mother."

"But _why_ would he want to?" Miyako asked, the question which no one had yet answered. "What did I do to upset him?"

There was no answer to this question, and no one offered any theories. For a few moments, there was silence except for a few quiet gasps of pain from Daisuke as Yamato continued the task of cleansing his wounds.

The door opened then, drawing the attention of all in the room, and Ken stumbled inside before it again slammed shut behind him. In the quiet, they could all hear the locks clicking.

"Are you all right?" Miyako asked as he pulled himself up off the floor. He did not seem to be injured in any way, but nor did he seem to be completely unscathed. Absently, he nodded, and then took a seat in one of the many empty armchairs.

"What did the King want with you?" Takeru wanted to know.

Ken held up a loose scroll of paper. "To give me this."

"What is it?" Daisuke asked, turning his head away from Sora, twisting his body so that Yamato was forced to call a halt to his nursing.

"A letter," Ken answered unhelpfully. Slowly, Daisuke got to his feet, and half stumbled forward. He brushed aside any offered assistance from both Yamato and Sora, and took the few steps to the armchair before his legs gave out and he sank to the floor.

"Can I see it?" he asked, and his voice seemed to wake Ken from a daze, to remind him that others were present. He handed over the paper without protest.

"You should be resting, you know," he said. "Not sitting on the floor." As Daisuke unrolled the page and began to read, Ken got to his feet and began to help him to stand. Takeru, still standing near the couch rose to assist. Somewhat reluctantly, Daisuke was forced to halt his reading until they had helped him back to the couch.

Yamato gave up his seat and went to take the armchair Ken had now vacated. "So the King asked you to stay behind so he could give you a letter?" he asked.

"It's from my mother," Ken explained. He looked over at the bucket of mostly-clean water and took a fresh cloth from the pile. "It seems that my father is ill."

"Oh no," Miyako said sympathetically.

"She's asked you to come home?" Sora concluded, and he nodded.

"And the King won't allow it?" Takeru asked, to which he shrugged.

"I don't think so," he replied, "but I didn't ask."

"I would be quite surprised if he did," Yamato said, "considering…." He glanced briefly toward Daisuke, but did not finish speaking.

Daisuke was reading the letter with some interest, and barely noticed as Ken began again the process of cleaning that Yamato had begun. "That's awful," he said when he had finished, to which Ken only shrugged and resumed his work.

* * *

The cell was as tiny as Hikari had expected, built only of stone walls, with high ceilings and heavy wooden doors. She had never dared descend the stairs into the basement dungeons before, and would have been quite happy to never make such a trip.

Not long after passing through the doors, the guards had managed, by some miracle of strength perhaps, to detach Tailmon from her. It took three of them to pull the screeching feline away, and each was scratched several times by her claws. Hikari had wavered between telling her partner to cooperate and trying desperately to reach her. At last they vanished through some distant door and Hikari herself was placed within a tiny cell.

There was no way to tell how much time passed before the door opened again. In the intervening space, she had done nothing but sit and think. She had thought about her father's motivations, she had thought about the actions of the Dark Bandit and the reasons Daisuke had for protecting him. Most often, though, she thought about the sight of him, covered with bruises and blood, and wondered how anyone could have let such a thing happen to anyone.

When the door creaked open and Taichi was deposited into the room, she forgot her musings upon all things and went to tend to her brother. Though he was not in such awful shape as Daisuke, he was still bruised and bloody, and visibly weaker than before. His shirt was torn from the lashes and stained with his blood, and he stumbled forward two steps into the room before he collapsed to his knees upon the hard stone floor.

"What has he done?" Hikari asked, though she was not certain she wished to know the answer. "How could he do this?"

"Hikari," he mumbled, and squinted at her through the sweat that had dripped into his eyes. "Are you…?"

"I'm fine," she answered before he could finish asking. "They haven't hurt me. But you…."

"It's not as bad as it looks," he disagreed, which she did not believe in the slightest. He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, and she could now clearly see the marks upon his wrists from where the chains had bound him.

* * *

As the sun sank and the parlor grew dimmer, a sense of lethargy hung over the occupants of the room. After spending half the day in discussion, no valid theories as to the King's future plans or motivations emerged, and all began to drift into sleep.

With the firelight flickering, Sora fell to sleep in one armchair, curled up against the pillows, and Yamato in another, his legs stretched out before him to rest upon a stuffed ottoman. Takeru stretched out along one of the couches and stared absently up at the ceiling, waiting for sleep to come. Daisuke had been allotted another couch for himself, upon which he was having no trouble sleeping.

Miyako, however, had not lost her nervousness. She tried to sleep in an armchair, on a couch, and even on the floor, but found it nearly impossible. At long last she gave up and went to the window.

Beyond, there was nothing but darkness to be seen on the grounds. A small balcony was beyond, but unreachable, as the window itself had been securely locked to prevent escape. Placing her hand upon the clear glass, Miyako felt the cool night air of the outside world beyond.

"Can't sleep?" Ken asked in a quiet voice that nonetheless startled her. She turned and saw that he was sitting on the other end of the window seat. He, too, was awake, and peering silently out into the dark night beyond. As the room was now lit only by the flickering fire, she had not noticed him before.

"No," she mumbled, and sat down upon the cushioned bench. "Too much on my mind."

He said nothing to this, and the silence fell between them. Miyako pondered his quiet nature, which she was slowly growing used to, and its contrast to her own. Outside, insects quietly chirped in the evening air. Inside, the sound of gentle snoring was the only sound. She glanced back over the room and saw that even Takeru had fallen to sleep now.

"I've been thinking," she said after a moment, "about the Dark Bandit, and how this all started before I even left home."

Ken remained silent, but he turned his head to face her, and she could see that he was interested in hearing her thoughts, and so she decided to continue.

"I was thinking, actually, a lot about him," Miyako went on, and now she turned toward the window, where a few small fireflies briefly blinked on and off in the darkness. "I thought, at first, that he must have been someone I knew, or at least someone my parents knew, because very few people would save the life of a stranger."

She paused, then shook her head to disagree with herself. "I couldn't think of any possibilities, though. I couldn't think of anyone I knew who would do something like that anonymously. So I thought, maybe it was a villager who wanted to protect me, or maybe it was someone else who wanted something from my father in exchange for his good deed." Again she shook her head. "Yet that didn't happen. No one came forward to ask for anything."

"There are people," Ken said quietly, "who would assist someone in need, even if they were not personally acquainted."

"So it seems," she replied.

For a few moments there was again silence between them. "I suppose you have some other theory," he said at last.

"A few," she admitted. "Do you want to hear?"

A brief, loud eruption of snoring startled them both before he could give his answer. Immediately afterward, however, all fell silent, and the insects could again be heard chirping nearby.

"I suppose it means he is all right," Ken said, "if he is snoring, it means he is sleeping soundly."

"H-how is it possible to sleep in the same room…the same building…with that noise?" Miyako managed to ask, to which he only shrugged.

"You get used to it," he replied without much concern. "Tell me your theories."

She blinked at him blankly before remembering the topic of conversation. "Well, I began by eliminating possibilities," she explained. "Firstly, it could not be me, and it couldn't be Sora, because she was with me in the village. It couldn't be Daisuke, Taichi, Takeru, Yamato, or Hikari, because they were all in the garden when the stranger…when Leomon attacked."

For a moment, there was silence, as she allowed the knowledge to sink in, that the attacker had been Leomon, partner of the King.

"So you are left with a large number of possibilities," Ken observed. He gestured toward the outside, indicating all the people who were currently residing, permanently or temporarily, within the palace.

"I suppose," she admitted, "but there are other things to consider. It has to be someone that _Daisuke_ knows, or at least it's very likely that it's someone that he knows. So that narrows it a little."

He glanced toward the couch upon which the subject of their conversation now lay. Daisuke was not sleeping particularly peacefully, despite his snoring, for he moved restlessly upon the couch, occasionally mumbling to himself without waking.

"I really don't think that it's anyone in his _family_ ," Miyako went on. "It doesn't seem to me like something his sister would do, even though she wasn't present at any of the times the Dark Bandit was." She shrugged. "I'm of the belief that he is most likely a man, but it could simply be a clever disguise, right?"

"You were thinking that the Dark Bandit was a _woman_?"

He seemed rather startled by this thought. Miyako again merely shrugged. "I don't think so," she replied. "I talked to him, and he didn't sound like it. As I said, though, it _could_ be a disguise."

He said nothing, but her explanation seemed to have satisfied him, and so he once more sat back against the wall and waited for her to continue.

"I also don't think it's likely to be Lord or Lady Motomiya," Miyako went on, "even though they were never present, either. I also have decided it's safe to eliminate the King and Queen."

"I should think so," he mumbled quietly, which she chose to ignore.

"Then there's the numerous other people in the palace that _I_ don't know," she admitted, "along with the possibility that the Bandit is actually from the village of Motomiya, or that he's a servant that I haven't met, or that he's some random person that I haven't even considered, and then there's another possibility."

She had spoken the last sentence with some speed, without giving any of the possibilities any particular attention, and so he took a few more seconds than would ordinarily be expected for him to both comprehend what she had spoken and realize that she had now turned her gaze directly toward him.

He blinked and nodded, and she waited, staring directly toward him as she waited to see what he would say. "The…other possibility?" he finally asked, and it was then that she finally turned aside, now fixing her gaze upon the dark abyss beyond the window.

"You."

Again, there was a long silence, and he did not speak until she had turned back to face him. "What will you do with that theory?" he asked.

"Tell you," she replied. "As I have now done."

Again, he blinked, this time blankly. "Tell me?" he echoed. "Tell _me?_ Not the King?" She shook her head almost immediately, which confused him even more. "Why not?"

"Why should I?" she countered. "So he can do the same to you as he's done to Daisuke…maybe worse? Probably worse." Again, she shook her head, this time with more vehemence, and lowered her voice. "You want me to betray someone who's risked his own life to protect _me_?"

He didn't protest this line of reasoning, but his gaze strayed once more to Daisuke. "You understand that knowing is…dangerous."

"I can see that," she replied. "Look, I…I don't know if I'm doing the right thing. I don't. I don't know what I did to make the King angry at me, and I don't want to make him more angry, but…," she sighed, and now followed his eyes toward Daisuke, "I can't condemn someone to that. Not someone that's protected me."

Again, Daisuke let out a snore, this one a bit quieter than before. The sound of quiet mumbles came from the others, but none awoke. Outside, the insects chirped quietly, and a gentle breeze briefly rattled the windowpanes.

"If I'm wrong," Miyako said quietly, "then I'm sorry to have offended you."

"You're not."

His admission startled her so much that she slid backward upon the cushion. Though she was not surprised by the truth, she was surprised at how easily he agreed. For a brief moment, he stared directly at her, and then he looked out the window.

"There's something I need to do," he said, looking out at the small balcony beyond. Another breeze now was causing the leaves on a few of the small plants settled there to flutter in the breeze. Miyako stared blankly at him for a few moments more before she understood.

"What, _now_?" she asked. "Won't you…won't they notice?" She gestured briefly toward the others, all still soundly sleeping.

"They might," he admitted, "and they might not." He shrugged. "It's something I need to do in a hurry, before the guards search my room." He paused ominously. "If they haven't already."

"If they had," Miyako concluded, "would you still be here?"

"Probably not," Ken conceded with a sigh. He got to his feet. "If they do notice, can you…?"

"I'll think of something," she promised.

* * *

The hour was quite late, likely past midnight. Though the sound of insect chirping was loud, the rest of the palace and the surrounding grounds were quiet. Most people had gone to sleep, and the guards who patrolled had little desire for conversation. They had been told keep their eyes open for signs of the Dark Bandit, and any other intruders nearby.

They had not, however, been told to keep their eyes upon the rooftops, which was where Ken had retreated. Such heights had always been a refuge, for few people looked upward and he could easily go unseen. Still, he had rarely been there without the support of his partner, and he had never been there without the comfort of a disguise, blatantly disobeying the King's wishes.

He moved quickly and quietly over the roof tiles, taking refuge in the darkness of the night, fairly confident he would remain unseen, but careful all the same. He had moved over these rooftops enough times to know where to stop and descend. Cautiously, he descended from the roof to the balcony, his feet quietly landing upon the railing in the usual spot with the barest of sounds.

For a moment, he waited, to see if anyone had noticed. There was no response from any of the guards that he knew were on the ground not far away, and if anyone within the palace had been close enough to hear, they were likely asleep. He climbed down from the railing, slipped open the glass door, and entered the bedroom. For a few moments, he stumbled through the darkness until he found the bed by walking into it.

He knelt beside the bed and found the candle that had been knocked down from his nightstand. He righted it, and the holder it was intended to be placed in, and lit a small, flickering flame so that he could see better.

The bed had been torn apart, with sheets, blankets, and pillows scattered about. The contents of the trunk at the foot of his bed, in which he had stored most of his clothing, were also scattered about the room. It was likely that all of their rooms had been searched in an effort to determine the true identity of the Dark Bandit.

The searches had not been successful, however, or else Ken doubted he would still be confined to a cushy parlor instead of a stone, cold dungeon cell. He rummaged beneath the bed, not upon the floor, but hidden up beneath the springs. At last, he found what he was seeking. His hands felt the wide, stiff brim of a hat, and the slick, silky fabric of a black mask.

Rising once more to his feet, Ken now slipped the mask over his eyes and set the hat firmly upon his head. It was not hard to find a black tunic to replace the gray shirt he had been wearing, and thus, his costume was complete. There was no sign, however, of a sword, and he did not feel safe enough to venture out into the world without a weapon.

Bringing the candle along, he slipped through the door of his bedroom into the parlor that he and Daisuke had shared. This room, too, was disheveled. Couch cushions had been tossed aside, and a deck of cards with which they had passed many hours was scattered around the room. Briefly, Ken allowed himself a shudder at his close call, at his luck in staying hidden, and then he slipped through the parlor and into the room that had belonged to Daisuke.

This room was a disaster as well, but resting upon the edge of the trunk of clothes at the foot of the bed was a shiny sword, the handle a mix of sparkling gold and jewels. It was intended for ceremonies more than fighting, but would do in place of nothing, for the blade was still sharp.

He slipped through the balcony and returned to the roof. He moved along quietly for a short while, until he noticed the light from some occupied room cast upon the grass below. Curious, he slipped down to the nearest balcony and peered through the window. The curtains had been shut, but there was a brief opening through which he could peek.

The window was shut, so that it was difficult to hear any words clearly spoken, but he could see well enough to note that it was Jun, speaking with the Lord Motomiya. They were speaking quietly, though he thought he heard them both mention Daisuke a few times.

He slipped aside from the window, before they noticed him, and leaned against the building.

* * *

"Are you sure you're going to be all right?" Alraumon asked of her partner as she shut the door to the bedchamber behind her. Jun rubbed her eyes, which were already quite red, and sighed.

" _I_ will be," she replied, "but it doesn't seem as though anyone else will." She sighed, and sat down upon the bed, rubbing her eyes again. "Mother is about to die, and Daisuke is probably going to be…."

She sighed and took a deep breath, rubbing her eyes again. "No sense worrying about it. I can't do anything." Again, she took a deep breath, and got to her feet. "I suppose I'll go to bed."

The plant digimon watched her partner with worried eyes as she rummaged within her trunk for a nightgown and began to undress. There was a small desk across from the bed, and Alraumon now sat down upon the chair beside it.

It was only when Jun had finished changing clothes and Alraumon was getting up that the digimon noticed the piece of paper set atop the desk. Curious, she lifted it in her vine-like fingers. "It's a letter," she realized, and then read it aloud.

"' _My lady_ , _I am sorry to inform you that I will be of no assistance in the matter of your brother's life. I can assure you that he lives, but I can give no assurances for how much longer. I can, however, deliver a message to him if you would wish to send one. If this is your wish, leave your note upon the balcony this evening and he will receive it.'"_

Jun had been in the process of climbing into bed when her partner had begun reading. She stood now, one leg frozen in midair, staring at Alraumon, who looked up from the letter with wide eyes. "Where did you get that?" she asked.

"It was here," the digimon replied, gesturing toward the desk beside her. She glanced down at the paper again. "It isn't signed. I don't know who wrote it, or how long it has been here, but the ink is still a bit damp…."

"I can guess who wrote it," Jun replied. Quickly she scrambled down from the bed and crossed the room, then searched over the desk for a pen and a bit of ink. They were found easily, undoubtedly the same materials with which the first letter had been written.

* * *

In every corner of the palace was located a tall tower, used mainly to keep watch for approaching enemies in times of war. Standing atop the rooftops, Ken had felt some sort of instinct drive him toward the tower in the northeast corner, and now that he had accomplished his first mission, he decided to follow this instinct.

It was not easy to climb the side of the tower, as it was made of fairly smooth bricks, and there were few handholds or footholds. It was no harder, however, than climbing the walls of the Motomiya prison, and so, after some amount of effort, he reached the upper windows.

They were barred, which surprised him as the towers had never been used to house prisoners. He held on to one of the bars and peered into the dimly lit interior. With some effort, he was able to make out a few dark shapes, and with some more effort, he was able to determine what they were.

* * *

Though he had no recollection of falling asleep, Daisuke awoke to find that the sun was shining brightly upon his eyes. He squinted, shielded his eyes with his hand, and slowly managed to sit up. All over, he felt stiff and sore, but slightly better than he had the morning before. Grimly, he realized that he had somehow managed to make it a half-day without receiving any fresh beatings.

The thought did not cheer him as much as might be expected. He wondered what had been done to Taichi and Hikari. The princess had bartered her own freedom for his, but at what cost? Would the King be so bold as to harm his own children?

The others were still asleep, but even as he noted this, Takeru was yawning and stretching, coming awake on the couch a short distance away. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Well," he said, "it wasn't the _worst_ night of sleep I've ever had."

Daisuke agreed with this sentiment, for a night spent bound in chains, lying upon a cold stone floor, was far worse than lying upon a lumpy couch in this soft parlor. He said nothing, however, only nodded.

"I wonder if we'll eat today," Takeru wondered, for he was already hungry. They had not been given food since the beginning of their confinement.

Thinking of his partner's comment the day before, Daisuke sighed. "If we do, it'll just be gruel again," he predicted, and turned to sit the right way upon the couch. "I wonder if they're all right."

"If who's all right?" Miyako wondered. She had, for some reason, fallen to sleep on the floor beside the window, half leaning against the wall. At the sound of her voice, Daisuke and Takeru both turned toward her.

"Our partners," Daisuke answered, and then added, "Taichi and Hikari. Everyone."

There was no optimistic answer to this, and so neither of the other two had any response. Takeru frowned grimly and rubbed at his sleepy eyes. Miyako yawned widely. Feeling restless, Daisuke got to his feet, somewhat slowly, and took a few steps.

"Don't you think you should be resting?" Takeru ventured, to which he shrugged.

"So I can recover in time for the execution?" he asked, and looked toward Takeru with a strange grin. "I'm fine."

"You really think they'll kill you?" Miyako asked timidly, eyes wide. Daisuke didn't answer, as he had taken up pacing, somewhat slowly, across the room.

Takeru sighed. "Odds are, yes," he admitted. "The penalty usually given to those who commit treason is death." He paused, considered a moment, and then added, "By hanging, most often."

Miyako gasped with appropriate horror, but Daisuke shrugged. "Occasional beheadings," he replied, apparently attempting to find humor in the situation, for which she had no appreciation. He paused, halfway across the room.

"I don't know how you can joke about it," she said. "Losing your head seems like an awful way to die."

"Are there really any _good_ ways to die?" Takeru wondered, which did not comfort her in the slightest.

"Quickly and painlessly," Daisuke replied, "which is not the way I'm going." He pointed toward the window. "Was that there last night?"

"Was what where?" Takeru asked. Miyako got to her feet and turned to look out the window, following his gaze. It was a small wooden box, set upon the balcony, outside the locked windows.

"I don't think so," Miyako admitted, "but I don't remember…."

"Then, how did it get there?" Takeru asked. "The windows are all locked."

"A visitor," Daisuke replied. He stepped forward and tried the window, but it was, as Takeru had explained only seconds before, locked. He jiggled the small handle a few times, but the lock held fast.

"We could probably break the window," Takeru suggested, "although then it would look like an escape attempt, and that might not be good."

"No, no," Daisuke interrupted before he and Miyako could begin to debate the possible consequences of such an action. "I can open it, I just need something…." His eyes fell upon Miyako. "Do you have something…a hair thing?"

"Hair thing?" she echoed blankly.

"I don't know the word for it," he admitted, "but it's this metal thing that holds your hair in place." He shrugged. "My sister has a million of them, and we used to...borrow them."

"Oh, yes," she replied, and immediately reached up. Ordinarily, she held back a few wayward strands of hair on either side of her head with small, thin pieces of metal commonly known as hair _pins_ (not _things)_. Curiously enough, she found one missing, and for a moment she puzzled over this before removing another and handing it to Daisuke.

He inserted the end of it into the lock and jiggled it about for a few moments while Takeru and Miyako stared at him blankly. "Do you know what you're doing?" Takeru asked, and at that precise moment there was a quiet _click_ as the lock opened.

"I have a vague idea," Daisuke replied. He grinned at Takeru, whose expression was halfway between surprise and disapproval.

A soft burst of spring air entered the room, and they all savored the scent and feel of the freedom they had been denied. Daisuke crawled through the window quietly, hoping that if any guards were stationed beneath the room, they would not glance upward at any time soon. He retrieved the box and returned to the room, letting the window shut behind him once more with a barely audible click.

"What's in it?" Takeru asked as Daisuke handed the small pin back to Miyako and began the task of opening the box. Within were a few small rolls of paper and a single jar of some unidentifiable liquid.

They stared blankly at the contents within for a few moments before Takeru lifted the small jar in his hands. He peered at the contents, which were a nondescript shade of beige, and then unscrewed the lid to sniff. He immediately pulled back from the jar, for the odor was a bit pungent.

"What is it?" Miyako asked, catching a brief, somewhat milder whiff of the liquid.

"Healing salve," Daisuke explained, having already moved on to one of the papers. "It might be useful."

"Might be," Takeru agreed, looking toward Daisuke with a sidelong gaze. He set down the jar to take the other scroll of paper.

"A message," said Daisuke then, having read a few words of the scroll. He opened his mouth to begin to read aloud, but was interrupted by Takeru, who held out the other paper to him.

"I think you might want to read this one first," he said, and so the two exchanged papers.

This second piece of paper, Daisuke found, was addressed directly to him, written with neat, precise handwriting and signed, near the bottom, with his sister's name. He stared for a moment at her signature, a thousand thoughts returning to his mind which he had pushed aside in the past few days.

Though the King had summoned many to the throne room that day, none of his family had been present. His sister, his ailing mother, and his father had not seen him paraded before the populace in chains and bruises. They had not had the opportunity to defend or shun him. Though he was certain that his imprisonment had not, and could not, remain a secret (for gossip, at the very least, would return to his sister), Daisuke had no idea what official word had been given. Had the King summoned his father and declared his treachery? Had his family been assumed to share some guilt simply by association? Would they be shunned henceforth from society by his actions?

The letter was not long, for it took up only about half of the page. As he began to read, he saw that Jun had not simply scribbled a quick note, but spent some time and effort in selecting her words and writing them neatly upon the paper.

" _I have been told_ ," she wrote, " _that this letter will reach you safely, and that you are not terribly close to death, though your continued safety is not assured. Father was informed by the King's messenger that you had defied the King, but there were no details given, and his requests to see you were denied. His majesty has refused to tell us anything further, and will not allow Father to come see him."_

 _"_ _As for Mother, she lingers, but grows slowly worse with each day. She asks for you often. The doctor is optimistic, but we all must face the truth."_

Here, Daisuke paused in his reading and briefly lifted his head. Takeru and Miyako were watching him with some concern and sympathy. Though they did not know exactly what he was reading, they guessed that it was not pleasant news. Dismissively, he blinked his eyes, forcing aside any approaching tears, cleared his throat, and returned to his silent reading.

 _"_ _Wherever you are, I am hoping that this message reaches you safely. As to the trustworthiness of the messenger, I cannot say, but I hope you will tell him that I appreciate his services, as I am sure they come at some risk to himself. I will inform our parents of the message I have received, and I am sure it will comfort them as much as I to know that you are well. Until we meet again, know that I will not give up hope."_

Finishing the letter, Daisuke stared a few moments more, both at his sister's signature, and at the final sentence. _Meet again_ , he thought. Would they?

He was aware that Miyako and Takeru were still watching him, and so he once more cleared his throat casually as he rolled the page once more. "My sister sends her best wishes," he explained, holding it up. "It seems a messenger volunteered to deliver a letter."

"What sort of messenger…?" Takeru began, and then shook his head, for the answer had come to him immediately. "Well," he said then, "at least we know _he's_ still alive."

Daisuke briefly cast his eyes over the rest of the room's occupants, all of whom were still asleep. Miyako noted, or perhaps only imagined, that they briefly fell upon Ken before moving away. He sighed, leaned back against the wall behind him, wincing slightly at the pain. "Yeah," he mumbled in answer to the hopeful statement Takeru had made, "but for how much longer?"


	10. Gruel

TEN

* * *

Sora found herself standing within the throne room. Eyes peered at her from the spectators, hundreds of pairs of eyes, each staring at her, some with disgust, some with pity, some with a mocking smile. All was quiet, but there were voices, whispering, faint voices, barely audible within the enormous space.

The King sat before her upon his throne. His dark eyes peered toward her, with a distant regality, a formality often common at official ceremonies. Feeling a touch upon her shoulder, Sora turned back and saw now her mother standing behind her.

"Sora," she said with a gentle smile, "it's all right."

She found her knees were shaking, and was grateful now that she had been born a girl, where such things were hidden beneath skirts. She had protested the formal gown at first, for the many layers were difficult to walk in, but now she was glad. Somehow, she managed to take a few steps forward.

"Lady Takenouchi," said the King in his bold voice, silencing the whispers. "This is your daughter?"

"It is," said her mother.

The King now had a kind and gentle smile upon his face. Sora felt a bit more reassured as she looked toward him. And then, briefly, she saw a bit of movement behind the stately throne, and a pair of brown eyes peered out there. Taichi peeked around from behind his father, a grin upon his face, and their eyes met.

"Sora," said Piyomon then, and she looked down toward her partner. The little pink bird smiled up at her.

There was a sudden flash of light, a strange red light. It grew darker in the great hall. The whispers returned. Sora turned back toward her mother, but Lady Takenouchi had vanished. She turned toward Piyomon as the digimon squeaked out her name once more, but there were guards now between them.

"Sora!" Piyomon cried out, and then she was gone.

She spun around, suddenly feeling alone, and saw once more the King within his throne. No longer was he smiling gently, but now he once more had a stern and formal expression.

A sound nearby distracted her, and she saw that Taichi was now struggling with the guards. They had grabbed his arms and were dragging him away despite his protests. He looked up, and again met her eyes, and she saw there panic and fear. Then, he too was gone.

She turned once more toward the King, and now he got to his feet. There was another flash of bright red light, and then the sound of screams in the distance. Sora took a step backward, forgot about the long, layered skirts she was not used to, and tripped. She sat down, hard, on the floor.

The King began to walk toward her. His eyes now were flashing with some strange emotion she could not identify. _Insanity?_ she wondered. He opened his mouth, began to laugh, and his laughter echoed off the high ceilings. The whispers turned to laughter.

"Sora? Sora! Wake up!"

It was Miyako that pulled her from the nightmare, and Sora now sat up, feeling sweat beading on her forehead. Her heart was pounding hard in her chest. For a few minutes, she didn't speak, and slowly the world came into focus and she realized that this was reality.

"Are you all right?" Miyako asked, and she realized then that most of the eyes in the room were upon her.

"Yeah," Sora replied, nodding slowly. "It was just a nightmare."

"What kind of nightmare?" Yamato asked.

"An unpleasant one," she replied, for there was no other kind. "Something about the King…he looked insane, and he was laughing, and…." She broke off, shivering.

"Was there a red flashing light?" he wondered.

She blinked at him, wide eyed. "Yes," she admitted, "like…lightning, almost. You saw it, too?"

"I did," he replied with a frown.

"Wait," Takeru interrupted. "You had the same dream?"

"Not exactly the same," Sora disagreed. "There was just the same red lightning in it."

"And the King laughing insanely," Yamato added.

"What do you think that means?" Miyako asked.

"I know what it means," Sora replied. "I've no doubt it means that something is happening to our partners."

There was nothing pleasant anyone could say to this, and no one bothered to disagree. For a long moment, there was silence.

They had all awakened by this time, and now they all sat upon armchairs and couches within the silent parlor. Sora leaned back upon the armchair she had slept in and rubbed both the sleep and the unshed tears from her eyes. Miyako sat in the armchair nearest her and cast concerned glances toward Sora.

"Something," Takeru said, and now held up a small roll of paper. "A message from the Dark Bandit."

"A what?" Yamato asked, getting to his feet in surprise. He crossed the few steps between them and took the paper from his brother. "How on earth did you get a message?"

"It was left on the balcony," the younger brother reported.

"And the windows are locked," Sora pointed out. "How…?"

"I opened it," Daisuke explained.

Yamato glanced up from the page he had begun to read. "So you not only make friends with criminals, but you learn from them, too?" he concluded, to which Daisuke only shrugged.

"It has proven to be a useful skill, hasn't it?" Sora said in his defense. "What does the message say?"

"The digimon are in the northeast tower," Yamato replied, handing off the page. That single sentence was all that was written. He frowned and sat down again in the chair he had vacated.

"The northeast tower?" Miyako echoed. "Why?"

No one had a valid explanation. "The towers have never been used as prisons," Takeru recalled then. "They have only been watchtowers."

"Why should they be?" his brother replied, "The dungeons are below."

"There must be some reason they are being kept in the towers," Ken said after a moment of silence had passed between the group. "Is there something else up there?"

"One of them," Sora recalled, "has a bell, but I don't think that's the northeast."

Yamato shook his head. "No," he answered, "that's the northwest, I think."

"I went up to one, once," Takeru remembered. "I think we were playing a game. I don't remember there being _anything_ up there, except windows." He shrugged. "It's a watchtower."

"It _was_ a watchtower," Sora pointed out. "Maybe now, it's something else."

" _What_ else?" Miyako asked, but no one had an answer.

"What purpose would there be to the northeast tower?" Yamato wondered aloud. He got to his feet and took a few steps, beginning to pace in thought. "What would the King accomplish by putting them there?"

"Separating them from us," Sora answered.

"No more so than if they were in the dungeons, though, right?" Miyako said. "Underground or above ground, what's the difference?"

* * *

Sometime around noontime, the door opened and a handful of guards entered, bearing a tray of small wooden bowls, which they set down upon the ground before departing. Daisuke had predicted that it would simply be gruel, and it was: a pale, odorless and tasteless substance that did little to ease the hunger pangs, but was enough to keep one alive.

Upon sight of the bowls, none seemed particularly thrilled, but hunger drove them to eat the substance nonetheless.

"What exactly is it made of?" Takeru wondered, poking at it with the provided small wooden spoon. He sniffed at the gray glob. "It doesn't smell like anything."

"Doesn't taste like anything either," Yamato agreed, swallowing his first mouthful. "It's like…."

"Eating paper," Sora concluded. "I think it tastes like paper."

"No," Miyako said, making a face as she studied the spoonful before her. "I think paper would taste better."

No one had eaten more than two or three bites of it before the door opened again. Two guards entered and half-tossed another person into the room. Hikari stumbled forward and fell to her knees upon the floor.

She was dressed in the same clothes she had been the day before – a pale pink dress, which was now covered with dust, grime, and bloodstains. Slowly, she began to lift herself from the floor, and as she did, she took in the sight of the room around her. The others were now all staring at her in surprise.

"Princess…."

It was Daisuke, sitting in the nearest armchair, who spoke. He got to his feet, crossed the space between them, and crouched beside her. "I'm all right," she said before he could speak further. "I'm all right."

"Are you sure?" he asked, helping her to stand. "There is blood, and you…and…."

"And I think he means you look awful, Princess," Yamato finished dryly, but Hikari shook her head.

"I'm not hurt," she said. "The blood is not mine." Absently, she brushed some of the dust from her skirts and then went to sit upon the nearest couch.

"Then…whose is it?" Takeru ventured to ask.

Hikari did not raise her eyes from her skirts and the dust upon them. "My brother's," she replied quietly, which shocked the rest of them into a stunned silence.

"He would hurt…his own…?" Yamato said. "Badly?"

She nodded, still studying the floor with some interest. "Not as bad as some," she answered, "but yes. I did not see it done, I only saw the aftermath. It was not pleasant."

"How could he?" Sora wondered. "How could he do this to his own son?"

There was no answer to this question, as there had been no answer before. There was a silence between them all for a few moments. Daisuke passed over his half-eaten bowl of gruel, as he had no interest in finishing it.

"Thanks," she said, but he shook his head.

"You won't say that once you've tasted it," he explained with a slight smile.

"I'll see if there's more water," Sora said then, and went again to the washroom. She returned a moment later with a clean, damp cloth, which Hikari also accepted, and wiped a bit of the grime, dust, and blood from her face and hands.

"They separated you from Tailmon, as well?" Ken asked, to which she nodded.

"As soon as we arrived in the dungeon. It wasn't easy. She was screaming and scratching, I could hear her down the hallway even after I couldn't see her anymore. They did the same with Agumon, too."

"According to the Dark Bandit," Yamato said, holding up the single sentence paper, "they are being held in the northeast tower."

"The tower?" she echoed blankly, and shook her head. "That doesn't make sense…."

"We know," Takeru said. "The tower has never been used as a prison. We can't figure out why it would be now."

"I wonder," Miyako put in, "why you were released. Did they give you some explanation?"

"No," she answered. "None."

"They put you and your brother in the same cell?" Yamato asked, to which she nodded. "Perhaps separation is a means to cause him more pain. If he does not know of your safety…."

"It would make it harder for him to resist," Ken concluded, nodding.

"Maybe," Sora said, "the king finds the thought of harming his daughter more abhorrent than harming his son."

There was a brief silence as all considered this statement.

"It's not the only possibility, though," Ken continued. He turned now toward Daisuke, and all other eyes followed him.

Daisuke nodded, understanding. "I knew this was only temporary," he said.

Hikari shook her head. "No," she disagreed. "I volunteered myself in _exchange_. Not _temporarily_."

"It seems that the King thought of it as such," Yamato noted.

"I am a more serious offender," Daisuke stated practically.

"In the absence of the Bandit himself," Yamato pointed out, "who I believe the King would be the _most_ interested in." He shook his head. "No, I think the only person who might be an acceptable exchange would be the Dark Bandit himself."

Daisuke shook his head. "I can't," he replied, "and I won't."

"No," Hikari agreed, "and you shouldn't." She sighed, taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry. It seems I can't be of any help in protecting you after all."

He shook his head again. "I do not deserve help, Princess," he replied, "and in any case, I would rather I be the one imprisoned and tortured than you."

She disagreed immediately. "No. You have already endured enough!"

"It's not over," Daisuke answered, again practical. He had been studying the floor as he spoke, perhaps lost in thought, perhaps unwilling to face those around him. Now, though, he raised his head and met her eyes briefly before turning aside once more. "I would rather be whipped a hundred times than have you imprisoned in my place."

This statement briefly stunned her, and then she sighed. "You don't have to do that," she mumbled. "You don't have to risk yourself for me."

"And you do not have to protect me," he returned quietly, to which she had no immediate retort.

For a moment or two there was silence and then Yamato sighed a frustrated sigh and leaned back upon the cushions of his armchair. He set aside his bowl of gruel. "I wish there was something to _do_ ," he complained, "instead of sitting here and waiting."

Several of the others agreed with his statement, nodding quietly or mumbling murmurs of assent. Before anything further could be spoken, however, the door opened once more and the guards returned.

* * *

The sound of the heavy door loudly creaking open woke Taichi from his half-asleep state, curled in one corner of the tiny cell. He made himself sit up, though his every muscle protested such an activity, and saw with some disappointment that the guards entered not with his sister, but with a small wooden bowl that was now tossed upon the ground, losing a bit of the contents in the process.

Hunger had been the least of his worries, for the pain of his many wounds had been far stronger than the growling of his stomach. The reminder now of food, however, turned his thoughts toward his stomach, and so Taichi crawled the short distance toward the bowl and studied its contents.

Inside was a bland gray substance. As there was no spoon nor other utensils, he scooped a bit out with his hand, finding that it had the same consistency as oatmeal or porridge, and tasted it experimentally. It had little taste or smell, and did little to quiet his stomach, but as it was not awful, he devoured it quickly.

There was a small pond of water at the far side of the tiny cell, which was quite muddy and dirty but served to quench the thirst. Not long after he had completed that task, Taichi heard the sound of a door slamming in the distance, and then the click of boot heels upon the stone floors.

"Down this way," said a gruff voice – one of the guards. "That one."

The door of the cell had within it a tiny window, barely wide enough to peer through. Standing on his toes, the young prince could barely see the hall beyond. As he did so, several sharply-dressed guards marched past, a prisoner between them. For a moment, they were visible, and then they passed beyond the view provided, but not before Taichi had clearly seen them all.

A nearby door squeaked open, and then slammed shut once more, echoing off the stone walls of the corridor. The guards, talking quietly to one another, went back in the direction from which they had come, leaving the hall empty.

Turning away from the door, Taichi sat down once more upon the cold, hard floor. It was not his sister he had seen in the hall, but Daisuke.

* * *

Restless, anxious, and confused, Yamato paced back and forth across the room, pausing occasionally to stare out the window in thought. Outside, the day was bright and sunny, gentle breezes carrying the scent of freshly blooming flowers, none of which were detected within the room, as the windows were securely locked.

The others were in a similar state of distress, though they were far more sedentary about it. Ken sat upon the window seat, peering out across the gardens. Takeru lazed sideways upon one of the armchairs, studying the ceiling. The girls sat upon one of the couches, leaning together and quietly consoling one another.

"It doesn't make any sense!" Yamato said at last, letting out a groan of frustration.

"What's that?" Takeru asked, turning his head toward his brother.

"Any of it," the older sibling replied. "Why should the King be so stubborn? Why should he react with such anger – beating and imprisoning his own son?"

"Why wouldn't he?" Miyako wondered. "It's disobedience and a step from treason and rebellion, right?"

"Yes, but it's also his own child," Sora answered quietly, "and what parent would wish such a thing?" She shook her head. "His majesty was not always so harsh. He used to be quite kind and gentle. That he could allow such cruelty, never mind _order_ such a thing…."

She fell silent, remembering then that Hikari was seated beside her. The princess said nothing, however, merely shook her head in agreement.

"When you put it that way, it _doesn't_ make sense," Takeru admitted. He sighed, and returned to studying the ceiling with some intensity.

For a few further moments, there was silence.

"What on earth?" Sora said suddenly, apparently out of nowhere, and several heads turned toward her in confusion.

"I hear something," she reported, pausing to tilt her head to one side. "Listen. Hear it?"

Miyako and Hikari, sitting nearest to her, shook their heads blankly, but Takeru nodded.

"I hear it," he said, and pointed toward a door on the other side of the room. "It's coming from the washroom."

The attached washroom was a small space, intended merely to be used for a single person to have a bit of privacy while tending to his or her personal needs. The floor was covered with a plain but serviceable white tile, and a washbasin was there, as well as a few towels, set upon a bench along one wall. Directly opposite the entranceway was another door so that maids or other servants might refresh the towels or bring fresh water without having to travel through the parlor itself.

There was a quiet tapping noise coming from this door now.

Crossing the washroom, Sora placed her ear against the door. Faintly, she could hear a voice on the other side, muttering quietly. "Hello?" she said cautiously.

"Who's there?" a voice replied clearly from the other side, as the tapping noise halted.

"I am Sora, of Takenouchi," she answered, glancing briefly back toward the doorway with a confused expression. Yamato frowned in her direction, reaching for the absent sword at his waist. "Who…?"

"Sora!" the voice beyond said with some cheer. "It is I, Koushiro, of the palace wizards."

"Koushiro?" Yamato echoed blankly. "What are you doing here?"

"Seeking information," the wizard replied. "Stand back, please."

The others had gathered around the doorway, peering around Yamato and over one another's shoulders. "Stand back?" Miyako asked. "Why?"

"When it comes to a wizard, don't ask questions, just do as he says," Ken advised. The crowd stepped back, further from the doorway, and Sora backed out of the washroom.

After a few moments, there was a slightly louder tapping noise than before, and the previously locked door opened with a loud creak.

Miyako had only seen the wizard Koushiro a few times before, and never close enough to clearly see him. He was a short young man with wild red hair and wide brown eyes. He was dressed in a simple set of brown trousers and an off-white linen tunic as well as a long robe of the same brown thrown over his shoulders. He smiled pleasantly to them all as he shut the door behind him and stepped through the washroom to the main parlor.

"Greetings all," he announced cheerfully. "I come seeking, and perhaps bringing information."


	11. Digimon

Eleven: **Digimon**

* * *

The group stared at the visitor with wide eyes.

"Koushiro, what on earth are you doing here?" Hikari asked.

"You could get into serious trouble for this," Yamato added.

The wizard shrugged, brushing a bit of dust from his robes as he entered the room. "I am quite aware of the potential consequences," he replied serenely, apparently unconcerned, and turned toward the princess with a respectful bow.

"Your highness," he said, "it is good to see you are well. I had heard you were removed from the dungeons but not to where you were taken."

"It seems the exchange I proposed was not suitable," she replied with a sigh. "They took Daisuke back after they brought me here."

The wizard frowned, nodding in understanding. At that moment, his eyes caught sight of Miyako, who was standing almost behind Ken, wary of the presence of a wizard, for she had never met one before. "We have not met, have we?"

Miyako shook her head and stepped aside. "No, sir, we have not," she replied, bobbing a polite curtsy.

He smiled his most charming smile and bowed in response. "I am Koushiro, originally born in Izumi, I believe, but most commonly a resident of the palace. A wizard, as you might have noticed."

"Ah…yes," Miyako answered dumbly.

"This is Miyako," Ken said when she simply went on staring, tongue-tied. Gently, he poked at her with one arm, waking her from this reverie.

"Yes," she said, blushing slightly. "Miyako, of Inoue. Pleased to meet you."

"Inoue?" the wizard echoed with interest. "I see."

A moment of further silence passed as all waited to see if the wizard might say anything further on the subject. When he did not, Sora ventured to ask the question which he had not answered yet. "Why have you come here, Koushiro?"

"Information," he replied, and gestured toward the couches. "Let us discuss the current state of affairs, if you don't mind."

When all were seated comfortably upon armchairs or couches, the wizard began to speak. "We've been spending a bit of time in debate in the last few hours," he explained.

"We?" Takeru echoed.

"Yes," the wizard replied. "Myself, Jyou, and Iori." He held up a hand to ward off any further fears for his safety. "It is nothing more than discussion, and quite secret at that, so you need not worry any further about us."

"Even discussion may not be completely safe these days, I think," Yamato commented, to which the wizard merely shrugged.

"In any case, there are several points on which we agree. Firstly, you are all in grave danger." He paused for effect, allowing this serious statement to sink in. "I do not believe that the King will keep you much longer in such luxurious surroundings."

Miyako shuddered quietly at the thought of the dark and dirty dungeons, and Takeru voiced his own sentiment, "Ech."

"I doubt he'll keep us together much longer either," Yamato agreed, "whether in a dungeon or more pleasant rooms."

"Jyou believes that it may be that the King has some sort of illness which affects his mind, to allow him to permit cruelty he would previously have found abhorrent, and to encourage such things as his own children's imprisonment."

"An illness?" Miyako echoed.

"It would be some sort of explanation," Sora admitted, "more than we currently have."

"If that's the case," Hikari said quietly, "what do we do?"

Silence met her question.

"If it's the case," Ken said after a moment, "then perhaps rebellion is the only option."

All eyes turned toward him. Yamato sighed in agreement.

"Is there any evidence of such a thing?" Takeru wanted to know. "An illness, even of the mind, would be somewhat detectable to a doctor, wouldn't it?"

Again, the wizard shrugged. "I confess I do not know." He frowned thoughtfully. "I admit that the doctor's theory is not one I subscribe to. There may be some other sort of influence present."

"Like a spell?" Hikari wondered, to which again the wizard shrugged.

"My knowledge of spells which can affect the mind is very limited, I'm afraid. I don't know of anyone who might be able to do such a thing.

"The third theory amongst us comes from Iori, who believes that the King is perfectly sane and in control, however his sense of ordinarily unwavering justice has wavered in the face of a desire for power."

He paused to allow the others to take in his statements, and then he cleared his throat before turning the discussion in another direction.

"In any case, the thing which most interests me in this instance is his majesty's attention to your digimon. I believe I may know the reason for such."

All eyes which might not have been upon the wizard at that moment now turned toward him. "Well," Yamato said, "What is it?"

"As you know, people have been trying to understand the nature of digimon since the beginning of time," the wizard began. "For centuries, learned peoples and their partners have tried to classify them into different groups. What we do know is this:

"Everyone is bonded with a digimon partner from birth. They are constant companions and loyal friends, eager to defend and protect. From many battles we know that if one is killed, the other can not survive for very long. As both age and the bond increases, the time that partners can be separated decreases, and both will become weaker with such separation."

Nods went through the group, for this was common knowledge.

"I'm sure that you all know that digimon have been classified in to three different groups as well…."

"Data, Virus, and Vaccine," Sora recited obediently, to which the wizard nodded.

"There are also varying levels of strength in a digimon. As you know, when humans reproduce, one of the digimon will also produce an egg, which will become the partner to the baby child. When a digimon first hatches, it is in its weakest state, the baby form."

"As are human babies at their weakest," Miyako noted.

"As the human child matures, so does the digimon," Koushiro continued. "Most change form, or evolve, at least twice before the child reaches adulthood. For example, when I was born, my partner was Babumon. At around the age of five, he evolved into the fresh stage, becoming Motimon. When I was twelve, he at last evolved to the third stage, becoming Tentomon. That third stage is called a Child stage, but most digimon do not grow beyond that."

"There's a stage beyond that?" Takeru asked in surprise.

"The King's digimon," Yamato informed his brother, a dark frown appearing on his face.

Koushiro nodded. "Indeed. Leomon is at what is known as the Adult stage."

"How is such a thing possible?" Sora questioned. "Why is his digimon more powerful?"

"That question, I do not know the answer to," Koushiro replied with a frown. "There are several theories, most of which are far too complex to detail here." He paused, collecting his thoughts, and then continued:

"There are legends about a time when select people were able to evolve their digimon higher than even the Adult stage, but these are very old stories. The truths have been obscured in strange myths. Digimon of such high levels have not been seen in many lifetimes, and there are those who believe such things are merely legends made up to amuse children."

"So, if we were to fight against Leomon, we'd be defeated," Yamato concluded, to which the wizard nodded.

"An Adult stage digimon is infinitely more powerful than a Child stage. Perhaps, with an army large enough, it might be possible, but I don't think a group as small as this would be capable."

"Even _if_ we had our partners," Takeru pointed out with a sigh.

"Is there some way that we might be able to evolve also?" Miyako wondered. "How were the digimon in the legends able to do it?"

The wizard shrugged. "That's the part of the story which is most unclear and full of myths. Most of the stories I've read agree that the human partners were able to harness strengths within themselves, but the details vary with each telling. They speak of strange magical devices, pendants, crystals, enchantments, that sort of thing. As to which, if any, was the truth, I do not know."

"So it's not likely we'd be able to do the same," Hikari noted, to which the wizard shook his head.

"If we're separated from our partners, we're of no threat to the King," Ken stated, "but even if we were together, all of us, we'd be no threat either. So why separate us?"

All eyes again turned toward the wizard for this answer. "I believe he may be attempting to evolve Leomon to an even higher stage," he replied. "If so, it's possible he may attempt to draw such power from other digimon, by de-evolving them."

A hush fell over the group. "Is that even _possible_?" Sora asked.

"There are old spells that have not been used in centuries," Koushiro replied, "used to weaken the enemy. It is a difficult spell and the casting of it…," he paused, sighed heavily, "is an unpleasant task."

"Unpleasant?" Hikari echoed.

"I've read the basic instructions, your highness," he answered, "and it was nothing I should ever like to attempt. Such willful harm takes a strong stomach and…a desire for evil, perhaps." He frowned.

" _Could_ the King use such a spell?" Miyako asked.

"His majesty has an army of wizards at his command and libraries filled with tomes of magical knowledge," Koushiro replied gravely. "Amongst them all, he could most certainly find a few who would be willing and able to carry it out."

* * *

Even through the thick stone walls, Taichi could hear the sound of fists connected with flesh, of quiet grunts, of chains rattling. The cell was cold and dark, but he shivered at the noises he heard rather than the chill he felt.

After what seemed to be an eternity, the sounds halted. Pressing his ear to the wall, he strained to hear the deep, commanding voice of the dungeon master.

"Will you speak?"

There was no answering murmur in response, and so Taichi supposed that the answer to the question was a silent "no." After a few moments, he heard the crack of the leather whip – a sound that he had become quite acquainted with recently – and found himself jumping in reaction to the sound.

The sound of the cracking whip went on a few moments longer and then another voice, this one recognizable, commanded, "Stop."

There was silence in the cells.

"He is no good to me dead," said the voice of the King. "Leave him be for now."

The sound of footsteps upon the solid stone could be heard, and then the heavy door slammed shut, leaving the prisoner alone in his misery. Taichi sat, quietly listening to the sound of the quiet, thinking about all that had been said and unsaid.

The sound of the door to his own cell creaking open woke him from his daydreams, and he looked up now to see the dungeon master enter, followed by another of the guards. In one hand, he held the handle of a long whip, the tip of which was already tainted with blood. The guard carried a set of shackles and chains in his hands.

* * *

Slowly, very slowly, V-mon opened his eyes and took note of the world around him. All was dark, as though the space he was in was lit only by flickering candlelight. All was quiet, with only a few quiet whispers nearby.

"Daisuke?"

Even as he spoke the word, he knew there would be no answer. He knew that his partner was not nearby. He tried to raise his head, but was too tired to do such a thing.

"V-mon, you're awake!" cried a familiar voice.

"Barely," he replied, and squinted through his mostly-closed eyes to see a set of iron bars nearby. Beyond, in the darkened, blurry space, was the shape of a small, yellowish digimon with large ears.

"Are you all right?" another voice questioned, this time from the opposite direction, and V-mon managed to turn his head and note that it was now Hawkmon who spoke.

"Exhausted," he answered, "and my head hurts a bit." Slowly, he managed to sit up, and found that he was in a tiny cage, barely large enough to stand in.

As he peered around the space beyond the bars, he saw that there were many other digimon here as well, each one in a similarly small cage. He saw now, in addition to Patamon and Hawkmon, that Wormmon, Gabumon, Tailmon, Piyomon, and Agumon were all present. Each looked rather tired, though none so tired as V-mon felt, save Agumon, who was sound asleep.

"Why have we been separated?" V-mon asked of them all. "Why are we here? I should be with Daisuke."

 _'_ _Especially_ ,' he thought grimly, _'if our time is limited. We should be together.'_

"We don't know," Wormmon answered for the group. "The King declared that all our partners should be confined, and then we were taken from them."

"That's not right," V-mon declared.

"Indeed it is not," Gabumon agreed in an official sort of tone. "Tradition long holds that prisoners be kept with their partners. For us to be separated is an act of extreme cruelty."

"I wonder," Piyomon said quietly, "what might have been done to Taichi." She turned her head toward Agumon, who showed little sign of life.

"They brought Daisuke in to show everyone," Hawkmon said to V-mon. "He looked pretty badly hurt."

"He was," V-mon said with a sigh. "I should be protecting him. I should be _with_ him."

"But if he was that badly hurt, to exhaust you, then how much worse might Taichi be hurt?" Tailmon questioned.

Piyomon now sighed quietly, a little squeak of exasperation. "Why might the king wish to hurt his own son?" she wondered.

"To be taught respect," said a deep voice, and all the digimon save Agumon looked up now to note the presence of Leomon as he entered the room. "It is best learned with the firm hand of discipline."

Tailmon got to her feet now and gripped the bars of her tiny prison. "What do you want with us?" she demanded. "Why have you separated me from Hikari?"

"We have need of your energies," Leomon stated plainly.

"Energies?" Patamon echoed, confused. "What use do you have for our energy?"

Leomon laughed. "I am the strongest digimon in the land," he replied, spreading wide his powerful, furry arms, showing all the sharp claws upon his paws, easily capable of crushing any opposition.

"Soon, I shall be the strongest digimon of all time!"

* * *

A short distance from the palace entrance, a road meandered through the countryside. A single carriage, pulled by a single Monochromon, traveled southward on this dirt road as the sun began to set in the west.

Within this carriage sat a young woman with light brown hair. Her pink dress was trimmed with many ruffles and ribbons of a darker pink color, and she was frowning toward the window beside her. The palace was faintly visible through the trees in the near-darkness.

Upon the opposite seat, her digimon sat, mindful of her partner's foul mood. She was a plant digimon, with a large pink flower atop her head and bright green eyes that were capable of filling with tears at a moment's notice. Though the delay in travel was certainly not her fault, it had not prevented the two of them from coming to near-arguments several times throughout the journey.

Suddenly, the young lady sat upright in her seat, eyes wide. "What was that?" she asked.

"What was what?" her partner asked in confusion. She turned to peer out the window, but saw nothing of interest, for the light was dim enough now that any scenery was rather obscured.

Instead of answering, however, the lady shouted, "Stop the cart," in a voice loud enough that the driver above might hear them, and then began immediately to exit the carriage before they had even stopped moving.

"Mimi!" the plant digimon protested, "Where are you going?"

"I saw something odd," Mimi replied, speaking to the driver as much as her partner, "and I wish to investigate. Have you got a spare lantern?"

"A lantern?" the driver echoed blankly. "Aye, ma'am, but why…?"

"Let me have it," she ordered. "I'm going to investigate."

"Investigate?"

"Yes, as I said," the lady replied impatiently. "Let me have it."

Bewildered, the driver obediently produced the extra lantern and then used the flame from the one he had already lit to quickly light the second. "To where are you headed, milady?" he asked.

"That way," Mimi replied. "Wait here for me, I'll be back before long."

"Wait?" he asked. "My lady, are you certain I should not go with you? It is unsafe within the forests…."

She had already taken several steps in that direction, however, and did not reply to this concern.

"Hurry, Palmon," Mimi called back instead, and the plant digimon quickly followed her partner, who was fast disappearing into the darkness of the nearby trees.

"What did you see?" Palmon questioned as they hurried through the forest, Mimi taking care to lift the hem of her dress over the undergrowth so that it did not snag upon the scattered twigs or shrubs.

"A light," Mimi replied, "in the midst of the forest. And something… something _feels_ strange."

"Feels strange?" Palmon echoed blankly. She paused walking long enough to examine her own feelings, but found nothing out of the ordinary, and had to quickly hurry to catch her partner before both Mimi and lantern disappeared into the darkness.

It wasn't long after that Mimi halted her own steps, seeing something faintly glowing in the midst of the forest. "Do you see that?"

Peering around her partner's skirts, Palmon could clearly see an odd white glowing a short distance away. It was not bright enough to be a lantern, nor the right color. "What is it?" she asked, and then called into the darkness, "Hello!? Who's there?"

Only silence responded. After a few moments, Mimi raised the lantern higher in one hand, lifted her skirts higher in the other, and stepped closer. As they moved within sight, they could see that the glowing was emanating from a small tree stump. Moving even closer, they could see that the glow was coming from inside a thick metal box resting upon the stump.

"What on earth…?" Mimi wondered. She stopped a half-step away from the box, wondering if it was safe to move closer.

"Open it!" Palmon urged, and Mimi glanced down in surprise. It was completely unlike the plant digimon to be at all adventurous, but in this matter, she was now quite eager to proceed. "I think it's important."

"Are you sure it's not _dangerous_?" Mimi asked. "Strangely glowing boxes in the middle of the forest…."

"You're the one who wanted to investigate," Palmon returned. "Investigate!"

There was no proper retort to such sound logic, and so, cautiously, Mimi lifted the cover of the box. It was set upon a hinge which silently swung open with ease. Inside were a number of other, smaller objects, pale blue boxes with darker markings upon them. One in particular, in the center of the pile, was emitting a strange, soft white glow.

For some reason that Mimi could not properly explain to any who might have asked, she felt drawn to the glowing box and so reached out to it. At the moment her hand made contact, it began to glow even brighter, the light now almost blinding.

"What is this?" she gasped aloud, and shielded her eyes with her free hand.

"Mimi!" Palmon cried out, a short distance away. "Something's happening!"

The box began to make a high-pitched noise, repeated over and over. Mimi squinted her eyes shut. "Palmon!" she called out.

"Mimi!" Palmon cried again. "I think I'm…I think I'm going to evolve!"

"What?!" Mimi asked in surprise, and then the light grew even brighter. Over the light, over the high pitched noise, she could hear her partner shouting.

"Palmon evolve!"

After a moment, the light had faded enough to make seeing visible, and Mimi saw that her partner had been replaced with a digimon of much larger size. Rather than a tiny plant with big green eyes and a bright pink flower, there now stood a tall, thorny plant wearing red gloves, easily twice the size of Mimi.

"Togemon!" announced this digimon in a deep booming voice that sounded nothing like Palmon.

"T-Togemon?" Mimi echoed, craning her neck to stare up at the giant plant. "I don't understand. I didn't know you would evolve _again_!"

"I didn't either," Togemon replied with a shrug. She flexed her arms, examined her fists. "It feels pretty powerful."

"Powerful?" her partner repeated blankly. "How – what?"

Before anything further could be said, both were distracted by a bright light again coming from the tree stump. The other small boxes within the metal box began now to glow, though not with as much intensity as the one Mimi had held.

One of them began to rise into the air of its own power, surrounded in a small ball of light. For a few moments, it hovered quietly above the box it had escaped, and then the other small boxes – eleven in all – rose into the air and hovered along with it.

Mimi stared at them, wondering if she was expected to do anything with them. She took a step forward, reaching out toward the nearest one, but before she could take hold of it, the boxes flew off at a high speed, They lifted up into the air, above the tree line, and then vanished into the distance.


	12. Evolution

**TWELVE: EVOLUTION**

* * *

The parlor door slammed open forcefully, startling all those who slept within into wakefulness. Miyako sat up abruptly, but before she had time to do more than rub her eyes, she felt two large hands lift her to her feet.

"What's going on?" she asked, but there was no response. Around her, she could hear other voices, asking similar questions, making demands of release, but there were no answers provided.

The hands which gripped her now began to walk, and Miyako found that her feet had no choice but to stumble along in response. She could see very little, for her handlers had not brought any lanterns to guide the way.

They walked for several minutes through the plush carpeted hallway and then down a wide wooden staircase. They turned around many corners and Miyako, unfamiliar with the palace layout, had not a clue as to where she was being taken. Then they shoved through a set of doors and began now to walk down a solid stone staircase, leading further underground.

It was only as her feet stumbled upon these stones that she thought of Ken. If the prediction made earlier was correct, that the King would soon have them all separated and sent to the dungeons, then she certainly hoped he had not chosen this evening to slip away into the night as he had the night before. His disappearance, even if not conclusive evidence as to the Dark Bandit's true identity, would nonetheless be damning.

There was very little she could do about it now, though. Miyako thought for a moment of calling out to him, seeing if he responded, but she had no idea if Ken had been taken as well, and no idea if they were being taken in the same direction. With her mind so occupied, she barely noticed when they came at last to a halt beside a heavy metal door.

There was a loud creak as the door was opened by a third set of hands, and then Miyako found herself shoved through with such force that she stumbled, tripped on her skirt, and fell at once to the ground. Her knees landed solidly upon the hard stone floor, and she reached out with her arms to catch herself as she landed face down. Before she could move or have any further thoughts upon the matter, the door slammed shut and with a loud thud and she found herself alone in the darkness.

Slowly, she sat up, feeling her knees for signs of injury. They were scraped, but not bleeding, and the pain was certainly bearable. All there was to be seen now was darkness, for there was only a small bit of light coming from the tiny window in the door behind her, and an even smaller window higher up the wall.

Distantly, she could hear water dripping.

So this was the dungeon, Miyako thought, looking around herself. It was much as she had imagined: dark, cold, and dirty. The door was heavy and thick, made of solid metal. High up, a tiny window allowed a faint bit of torchlight to come into the otherwise dark cell. Standing on tiptoes, she peered through this window and saw only more stone walls beyond.

She could hear footsteps clumping heavily through the halls, but no voices, and the feet were moving away from her.

At last, with a heavy sigh, she sat down in the dust, considering a return to sleep. Though such a thing would not be easy after such an awakening, there was little else to be done.

* * *

"Well," Mimi said when the flying globes of light had vanished in the distance. She looked up at her partner, easily twice her own height. "I suppose you're not going to fit in the carriage now."

"Suppose not," Togemon replied sheepishly. She was tall enough to see over the shorter trees, and the road they had left was quite visible to her.

"I guess you could walk behind," Mimi continued, frowning thoughtfully. "It's not _that_ much farther. Although, I don't know what we'll do once we get there, since you won't fit through most of the doorways, either." She looked down at the little blue box in her hand. "What _is_ this thing, anyway?"

Togemon didn't answer, as she was staring off into the distance, apparently quite interested in something. "I see something odd over there," she said now instead.

"Odd?" Mimi echoed, and turned her head in the same direction, seeing nothing but trees from her own perspective, and dim trees at that, for the sunlight was fading fast and dusk was setting in. "What sort of odd?"

"There's this big blob of yellow," Togemon answered. "I can't clearly see what it is, but I'm pretty sure it isn't a tree."

Her partner frowned again in thought for a moment, and then shrugged. "Well, I suppose we'd best investigate _that_ , too," she replied, and began at once to walk in the indicated direction, holding the lantern in front of her. After a moment, Togemon followed.

It was not long at all before they came to a clearing in the midst of the trees. In the center stood a tiny cabin, made of mismatched pieces of wood nailed in various directions. The multitude of trees used in the construction gave it an odd, multicolored, almost quilted look.

Also in the clearing stood a tall yellow creature. It was as tall as Togemon, but much more soft and cuddly than the giant, thorny plant. Atop its head were two rounded ears, a few patches appeared to be sewn into its skin, and its nose poked out from his face with a few small whiskers. Overall, Mimi thought it resembled one of the stuffed creatures she kept in her bedroom as a child, but the fierce expression it wore ruined any thoughts of friendliness.

"Is it a wild digimon?" Mimi asked, having never seen such a creature before.

"He does appear to be without a partner," Togemon replied with a shrug. "What shall we do?"

"Somehow, I don't think he's here to welcome us," the young lady answered. "Maybe I ought to try to talk to him."

"I don't know if he looks like he's in the mood for conversation," the giant plant digimon said with a skeptical shrug.

Waving aside her partner's concerns, Mimi stepped into the clearing. "Hello!" she called cheerfully, and the giant digimon peered down at her with a rather inhospitable expression.

The tall yellow digimon turned to face her, peering down with an expression of curiosity, though he did not speak.

"I am Mimi, of Tachikawa, which is quite a bit north of here," she now waved in that direction vaguely, "and as such I seem to have gotten a bit lost…."

Before she could continue, the digimon growled quietly in response, stunning the young lady into silence (which was no easy task). Before she could voice her displeasure, however, the digimon shouted, "Lovely Attack!"

From apparently nowhere, large and translucent blue hearts appeared in the air. Like giant soap bubbles, they drifted on gentle breezes, seemingly pleasant and cheerful.

For a few moments, Mimi merely stared, wide-eyed, having never seen anything of the sort before. She took a few steps backward, and then turned toward the forest to see that a few more heart bubbles were approaching from that direction.

"Prickly Bang Bang!" shouted another voice, and the bubble nearest Mimi popped as a soap bubble might. Several others fell as well, and the young lady saw now that the reason for this was that they had been pierced with small, thin, sharp objects quite similar to needles.

Again, Mimi turned back toward the forest and saw now that Togemon was emerging from behind one of the larger trees. It appeared that she was responsible for popping the bubbles.

"Togemon!" Mimi said in relief, and then turned back toward the other digimon as he shouted his attack again.

"Lovely attack!"

"Togemon," Mimi said then, turning back toward her partner, "Let's teach this one some manners!"

"With pleasure," Togemon replied, running forward, shouting, "Prickly Bang Bang," as she went. Shortly afterward, she ran headfirst into the soft yellow digimon, solidly connecting one fist with the bear's head.

The yellow digimon growled his frustration and swung his own fist, which connected solidly with a number of sharp thorns, causing him to cry out in pain. Seizing the advantage, Togemon reached out with both arms and shoved her opponent to the ground.

Then, spreading her arms wide, she shouted, "Prickly Bang…!"

Before she could finish, the bear had scrambled to its feet yet again, and before long, it was running at top speed toward the forest, crying out in fear and anguish.

"Wait!" Mimi called after it, but it was long gone. "I was hoping to figure out what it was doing here," she confided to her digimon.

There was then a bright light that filled the small clearing for a moment or two, and when it faded, Togemon had reverted to Palmon.

"Palmon?" Mimi said with surprise. "I don't understand. You _de_ -evolved?"

"I didn't have enough energy to stay as Togemon," Palmon replied, yawning a wide yawn and rubbing at her eyes with one hand. "Do you suppose we could get some sleep soon? I'm awfully tired."

"Energy?" her partner echoed blankly. "I don't…what?"

"Maybe we could rest in there," the plant digimon suggested, pointing toward the cabin nearby.

Mimi turned toward the house, now that the large digimon was no longer blocking her view. It was such an odd building that she wasn't quite certain she wanted to venture within. Before she could come to any decision, however, the door opened with a creak.

A short man stepped out of the opening, nearly bald but for a bit of white hair pulled behind his head. He was dressed in what Mimi supposed were wizard's robes, but in a bright shade of blue rather than the more common dusty brown she had seen worn in the palace.

"Greetings!" the little man said, taking note of the visitors. "So glad you could make it. Would you care to join me for some tea?"

* * *

The heavy door slammed shut with a loud bang at the exact moment that Hikari felt her knees slam into the ground. She heard herself let out a little cry of alarm, and threw out her hands to brace her fall.

The locks and bolts clicked into place. The heavy beam which held the door shut now slammed down. Distant footsteps clicked away.

She was alone in the darkness.

For a while, she sat there on the ground, peering into the emptiness beyond. Distantly, water dripped steadily. A faint bit of starlight peeked through a distant window in the wall above, and an even fainter bit of torchlight through the window in the door. Slowly, the room became visible.

The sound of a voice, quietly whimpering, came faintly through the cell, from somewhere nearby, along with the sound of chains rattling. For a half-second, Hikari felt a shiver of fear, and slid backward on her hands. Again, the voice could be heard, this time moaning, and now she crawled forward, motivated partly by curiosity and partly by a desire to help her cellmate, who was apparently in pain.

He was sitting alongside the far wall, leaning head and shoulders up against it, hands bound in heavy shackles attached to the wall with a length of chains. Though the cell was not particularly chilly, he was shivering as though cold, and water dripped slowly from the tips of his hair, which hung limply from his head.

"Daisuke!" Hikari said with some surprise, both at the sight and the state of him. She hurriedly scrambled across the short distance that separated them. At the sound of his name, he opened his eyes to squint toward her through the darkness.

She reached out and took one of his hands in her own, and found that it was not only wet but also icy cold, explaining his shivering. "You're half frozen!" she exclaimed.

The sound of her voice speaking in alarm seemed to rouse him at least a bit, for Daisuke blinked at her a few times. "P-princess?" he mumbled, sounding sleepy.

She had already gone, however, crossing the small cell to retrieve a pair of thin and dusty blankets that had been left near the door. With one hard shake, she removed the worst of the filth and then returned, to wrap one over his shoulders.

"You're soaking wet, too," she said as she did so, rubbing gently in hopes of warming him. This action as well seemed to wake him further, and his shivering became less violent.

"W-what are you d-doing here?" Daisuke asked, for he had by now managed to understand the situation enough to realize that it made no sense.

"I don't completely know," Hikari admitted, unfolding the second blanket and shaking it clean. "The guards came and brought me here. I think they brought _everyone_ here."

"Everyone?" Daisuke echoed blankly.

She put this blanket over his head, using it to dry his hair and warm his head. "It was hard to tell in the dark," she admitted. "There may have been _some_ left behind."

He shook his head in a faint attempt to clear the cobwebs from his mind. "That doesn't make any sense. Why…?"

"I don't know," she said again. Sitting beside him, she pulled her legs beneath her and leaned against the same wall, facing him. "Koushiro thinks it has something to do with digimon evolution."

"Digimon evolution?"

* * *

No sooner had his knees and hands made contact with the hard stone floor than Takeru felt something slam into his back, knocking him forward. It was only by luck that he avoided slamming his face into the stones, but he laid there, stunned by the impact as much as the experience, for a few seconds before he heard the door slam shut and the many locks click into place.

The weight on his back evaporated at once, and Takeru shortly afterward could hear the unmistakable sound of fists pounding uselessly on a metal door. "Let me out of here!" his older brother was shouting through the small window. "I haven't done anything wrong!"

Unsurprisingly, the guards did not respond, and a panel was slid over this tiny opening, plunging the brothers into a greater darkness. Yamato shouted a string of obscenities and then kicked the door with his bare foot, which resulted in another string of obscenities.

Takeru, meanwhile, had gotten himself to sit up, rubbing his head, and watched without much sympathy as his brother limped away from the door and sat upon the ground to examine it. "Are you finished?" he questioned dryly.

Even in the dim light, the glare the elder brother cast toward the younger was formidable. "Don't tell me you're _not_ angry!" he demanded.

Takeru yawned, not having forgotten that he'd been in the midst of sleep not very long before. "I'm far too tired for anything like that," he replied calmly, and pondered which part of the stone floor in this tiny cell might be the most conducive to sleeping.

"I knew it was coming," Yamato grumbled, still attempting to examine his injured foot in the near-darkness. "I _knew_ we'd be separated. Doesn't mean I'm not angry about it."

"I see that," Takeru mumbled, yawning again. The entirety of the ground was covered in a thin layer of dirt and dust, and none of it seemed comfortable for sleeping.

"I'm thinking that when Father finds out, he'll have something to say," his brother went on. "We haven't done anything wrong, there's no need to imprison us."

"Except defending the actions of a traitor in the King's eyes," Takeru replied. He decided it might be best to select a spot near the wall, in case the door opened again. It would not be pleasant to be stepped on or tripped over.

Yamato had nothing to say to his brother's logical reply. He gave up studying his foot, since it did not appear to be seriously damaged, and leaned back against the dusty stone wall. "What happens next?" he wondered. "We stay here for long enough to remind us that we, as sons of noblemen, are not cut out for life in a dungeon. Perhaps we are threatened with worse than this. If they _do_ execute him, we swear loyalty to the King and are returned to our former existence."

"Seems like it," the younger brother answered. As there were no comfortable positions, Takeru laid down upon his back beside the wall and studied the thin bit of light coming in through the distant, tiny window high above.

"Or maybe de-evolution, if the wizard's theory is correct, will result in deletion. Maybe this spell the King might want to use is strong enough to take not just _some_ energy, but _all_ energy. If that's the case, we're good as dead."

"Could be," Takeru said, and yawned again. "It's not over yet, though."

Yamato frowned toward his brother. "How can you be so calm?" he demanded.

"I'm tired," he said, "and I have a positive mindset. If I think positive thoughts," and here he paused to yawn again, "positive things might happen."

His brother scoffed at this statement. "I believe this situation will take a lot more than positive thinking to get out of."

* * *

The inside of the cottage was significantly larger than the outside would have suggested, though it did seem to match in style. The floor was made of smoothly polished wooden planks. A large fireplace was opposite the door, with a cast iron kettle hanging on a hook over the flames. Not far from the fireplace was a small table with four chairs around it.

"Please, have a seat," the little man said invitingly, gesturing toward the table. "The tea is nearly ready. Would you like cream or sugar?"

"A little sugar," Mimi answered politely as Palmon shook her head. They crossed the room and took seats in the available chairs. A moment later, the little man had placed a cup of hot tea before her, served in an elegant white porcelain cup on an equally elegant saucer. He set a small bowl of sugar down beside this and then turned back to the fire to pour his own cup.

Mimi took a tiny sip of tea with a spoonful of sugar and found that the taste was quite pleasant. She glanced toward Palmon, who nodded her own appreciation of the drink.

"I'm so glad you've come," the little man said as he took a seat at the table. "It's been so rare that I get visitors these days." He took a sip of his tea and then set it down.

"Ah, forgive me," he said then, "I have not introduced myself. I am called Gennai, and I suppose you could say that I am a bit of a mystic."

"I am Mimi," the young lady replied, "of Tachikawa, and this is Palmon." She paused to nod toward her partner, who then spoke up before Mimi could ask any further questions.

"Why was that strange digimon outside your house?" Palmon asked.

"Oh, Monzaemon?" Gennai questioned. "He's been around here for about twenty years or so. At one point he was quite a nice fellow, but he's really developed a temper over the years. Perhaps he hadn't been sleeping enough." He shrugged absently.

"What was his purpose in being here?" Mimi asked.

"Ah, he was my guard," the old man replied. "I believe his majesty wished that I remain here and not be disturbed. I wouldn't have minded being disturbed, to tell you the truth. It gets boring being alone for twenty years without anyone to speak to."

"Haven't you got a digimon partner?" Palmon wondered. The old man shook his head.

"I'm afraid I never found the right one for me," he replied somewhat evasively. "But we're not really here to talk about me. We're here to talk about evolution." He paused to take a long sip of tea.

"You know about evolution?" Mimi asked. "Do you know why Palmon was able to evolve? Do you know why she didn't _stay_ evolved, like Leomon?"

"The evolution of Palmon was made possible by that device you've been carrying around," Gennai replied, pointing toward the small box that Mimi had set on the table between them. "It is an ancient item known as a Digivice, which helps to enhance the bond between digimon and partner, thus giving greater strength to the digimon."

"How does it do that?"

"Magic, of course," the old man answered with a wink. "I'm fairly certain

that the digimon uses some of the human partner's energy, but it's a bit more complex than that. Complex magic was never quite my thing."

"What happened to the other…digivices?" she asked.

"Other?"

"There was a box full of them," Palmon reported, "and the rest of them all floated off through the sky." She pointed toward the south. "That way."

"Ah, yes," Gennai said with a nod. "The other digivices went to their true owners."

"True owners?" the plant digimon echoed.

Gennai had finished half his cup of tea and so now he rose from his chair and began to walk toward the hearth again. "It's a very old legend that surrounds the digivices, some of which is based in truth. Many, many years ago a group of people and their partners were called to defend the world from a serious threat of Darkness. Using the digivices, they were able to defeat this threat."

Having refilled his cup, he set the teapot down upon a piece of cloth resting on the table for just such a purpose. "If they've returned, then they are needed. The people they have been sent to are the ones who have been Chosen to fight a new threat."

"A new threat?" Mimi asked with a gasp.

"There is really no reason for the digivices to be available except to make evolution possible," Gennai explained. "For many years there was peace, and evolution was unnecessary. If evolution is again necessary, there must now be a new threat."

"So you're saying that _I_ will have to fight?" Mimi asked. "That _Palmon_ will have to fight?" She turned toward her partner in shock and alarm, but Palmon was nodding grimly.

The old man nodded solemnly. "Indeed. You'll have to fight many threats."

"But…I…I don't know _how_ to fight," Mimi protested. "I'm not sure I… _want_ to fight."

"You won't have to do it alone, Mimi," Patamon said reassuringly. "I'll be with you. And so will all the others who received the digivices."

"Oh, that's right," Mimi remembered. "Where have the other digivices gone to?"

"The rightful owners," Gennai repeated. "I don't know who they are." He pointed toward the small blue box on the table. "When they've been delivered, the digivice will let you know."

* * *

The cell was dark, silent, and empty. The door slammed shut with a loud thud, and Sora found herself kneeling on a cold stone floor. Behind her, she could hear the voice of Yamato, shouting out his protests, and perhaps a few other distant voices. She heard a few other doors slam shut.

It was cool here, damp, and dark. Sora shivered a bit, partly from fear, and peered into the empty cell.

There was movement then in the distant shadows, and she slid backward until she was up against the locked door. A loud thud sounded as she made contact, which startled her until she realized what had happened.

There was only faint torchlight peeking through the tiny window in the door, and it was hardly enough to clearly see with. Taking a few deep breaths to calm herself, Sora stared into the unknown darkness, wondering and hoping she had imagined the movement – that it was merely flickering shadows.

The sound of chains clanking in the corner proved that it was reality after all, and she slid backward further, pressing herself up against the heavy door. The sound both comforted and frightened her, since it indicated that the prisoner was quite restrained, but perhaps that he was violent enough to need such restraint meant she was at great risk of harm.

The movement, however, managed to bring him into a bit more of the torchlight, and at the clear sight of her cellmate, Sora forgot all her previous fears and moved at last away from the door.

She scrambled forward quickly through the darkness and halted beside the shadow. Perhaps noting her presence, Taichi opened his eyes and managed to speak. "Sora?"

"Yes," she answered, reaching out to gently brush her fingers upon his cheek, to assure herself of his presence. "I'm here. You're hurt."

"I…," he began, reaching forward with one hand. The chains bound about his wrists jangled with this movement. Sora had already gone, however, moving toward the tiny pool of grimy water a short distance away. She cupped a bit of it in her hands and then carefully held them out.

"Here, drink," she said, and so he sipped at this bit of water. It did little to quench his thirst. "Good heavens, what have they done to you?"

"My sister…?" he asked, to which Sora only shook her head.

"She's all right. They haven't hurt her," she informed him, again bringing a bit of water, "only exchanged her for Daisuke."

She would have turned back for more water, but Taichi reached out and took her hand before she could move aside. "And you?" he asked. "Why have they brought you here?"

Sora was quiet a moment. "They brought us all here, I think," she replied. "We were separated from our digimon and spent the last day in an empty parlor, until tonight, when the guards came. I'm pretty sure that we were _all_ brought here."

He shook his head. "Why?" he asked. "Did something happen?"

"I don't know," she answered with a shrug. "We've been separated from everything since then. Koushiro came, sneaking in through the washroom to tell us a theories on digimon evolution and…your father's motivations."

"Motivations?" Taichi echoed. "For what?"

"For the separation," Sora clarified, "from our digimon. He thinks that maybe his majesty is planning to de-evolve our partners in order to make Leomon stronger."

Again, the prince shook his head in confusion. "That doesn't make any sense…," he began, but was distracted by something before he could finish this thought.

There was a noise in the hallway outside, a voice of alarm. Both the prisoners turned their heads toward the door, and at that moment, two small spheres of light floated into the cell through the tiny open window in the door.


	13. Digivices

The tiny basement room was filled to the brim with books, beakers, potions, and a number of other unidentifiable objects. Embedded in one wall was a large fireplace, in which a rather small flame was burning. In the midst of one bookshelf lounged a small red and black bug digimon, sleeping peacefully. In the center of the room was a small table and chair, at which sat a young but talented wizard.

He was peering steadily at a large volume opened on the table, so large that it barely fit upon the table. A number of candles were set around him in order to make reading possible. So involved was he in reading that he did not notice the small door shut quietly as his visitor entered.

"Don't you ever sleep, Wizard Koushiro?"

The sound startled him into awareness of his situation, and the young wizard sat up straight with a start to notice a tall, dark haired young man had entered his space. Resting upon his shoulder was a small white digimon, apparently asleep.

He frowned toward this visitor. "You aren't sleeping either, doctor of Kido," he replied.

"Involved with work," Jyou replied, taking a seat in one of the empty chairs across the table. "Dealing with a dying Lady. You, on the other hand, have no reason to be awake so late in the night. It's past midnight, you know."

"Of course I have a reason," Koushiro answered, turning a page in his book. "I'm trying to find information on an old legend about digimon evolution."

"That can't wait until morning?" the doctor returned dryly.

"I don't think it can," the wizard replied absently, already half-lost in his book once more. "People's _lives_ could be at stake."

"Ah. I'm sure I wouldn't know much about _that_."

Koushiro paused in his reading long enough to toss him a disapproving frown, and then returned his attention to the book. "If I can figure out what happened in the old legend, it might hold the answer to the current problems."

"Assuming that any part of that legend is the truth," Jyou replied skeptically. "It might simply be a tale of pure fiction."

There was a long moment of silence before the wizard pushed back his chair with a sigh. "It might," he admitted. Getting up, he crossed the room and removed a small kettle of water from the fireplace mantle, which he then hung upon a hook over the flames.

As the doctor watched, the wizard made a few small, barely noticeable gestures above the flames, quickly restoring a blazing fire to what had previously merely been smoldering embers. When he'd finished, Koushiro turned away from the fire and began to rummage upon another shelf for a pair of mugs.

"I feel I must do _something_ , though," he admitted, setting the mugs upon the table before sinking back into his chair. "Whatever it is the King is planning, it doesn't seem as though it will be something good. There's more involved now than the simply the identity of the Dark Bandit."

"That much is clear," the doctor agreed, leaning back in his chair with a thoughtful expression. "To imprison his own children simply for stating an opinion – it is a sign of something sinister." He sighed, folding his arms across his chest.

Upon his shoulder, his partner Gomamon yawned widely and opened his eyes. "Why aren't we in bed?" he wondered.

"I've been working," Jyou reminded him.

"Yes, and you aren't now," the digimon retorted. He yawned again. "You ought to get more sleep. Who will heal the doctor when he falls ill?"

"There are plenty of other doctors around should it come to that," he answered with a shrug. "And wizards," he added, to which now Koushiro shrugged.

"There's no point to arguing with him," the bug digimon, Tentomon, commented from his perch in the midst of the bookshelves. "When he gets involved with his work, he often forgets to sleep." He shrugged. "So long as he doesn't disturb me, I don't much mind."

"No, but it might well affect his health," Jyou said with a sigh. "And I wonder if there might be some reason to be worried over such a thing in the near future."

"I wonder that, too," Gomamon said. He shivered absently. "It seems as though something of importance will soon happen."

"What do you mean by that?" Koushiro asked, looking up from his book to which he had again returned to perusing while the others conversed.

The little white digimon shrugged casually, and then blinked a few times, somewhat alarmed by the expression upon the wizard's face. "I don't know," he replied somewhat defensively. "I just feel like _something_ is going to happen."

"I have that feeling as well," Tentomon admitted. He opened his wings and fluttered them a bit, but did not take to the air. "I don't know why either."

Jyou opened his mouth to reply to these statements, but had no time to speak any words before his attention was distracted by two small, white spheres floating through a distant but slightly open window.

* * *

At some point near the top of a tall flight of stone stairs, the guards had loosened their grip enough to release their hold upon their prisoner. Unprepared for the sudden need to hold himself upright, Ken fell to the ground, landing upon the hard stone floor on his knees. Before he was fully aware of anything more than the pain in his legs, he found himself pitching forward, tumbling down the stairs.

His half-asleep mind, the relative darkness of the stairwell, and the pain coursing through his body meant that he could make no attempt to halt this fall, and so the next thing Ken was aware of was lying upon the landing, having fallen down the entire flight.

He laid there for a moment, taking stock of the bruises now forming upon his body, wondering if he'd broken anything, wondering if he was bleeding in any place. Before he could attempt to even sit up, the guards had reached him. Each took one of his arms and hoisted him to his feet, an action which sent fresh spasms of pain running through his arms and then his legs. Looking down, he could see in the dim light that his trousers were torn in several places.

"Keep a better grip on him!" one of the guards said to the other in a low, harsh voice. In response, Ken felt both of their grips grow tighter upon his arms.

They continued down the next flight of stairs at a quick pace, for the other guards and prisoners were by this point long gone. Ken paid little attention to where he was being taken, as he was more concerned with the pains in his body. His head was beginning to ache now. His toes stumbled over the stone steps as they continued their downward path.

At last they halted, and Ken now looked up to note that they had paused beside a tall door made of heavy metal, barred in front by a wooden beam. He recognized the corridor as being quite similar to the one he had passed through earlier, when he had been allowed to visit Daisuke.

As he was thinking this thought, the door opened with a loud creak. Both guards stepped forward so that Ken was standing upon the threshold, and then, at the same time, they released their hold on him and shoved him forward. He stumbled, tripping once more on the stones, and fell again to his knees. This fresh discomfort reminded his body of the pain in the rest of him, and so he collapsed the rest of the way on to the floor.

The door slammed loudly behind him, shortly followed by the slam of the beam across it, and quiet clicking of the keys in the lock.

"Are you all right?" said a voice unexpectedly, and it was then that Ken discovered he was not alone in the cell. He sighed heavily and somehow managed to lift himself from the ground.

"For the most part," he answered, groaning quietly. He placed a hand to his head. Though his skin felt raw and bruised, he did not feel any blood.

"You're bleeding," his cellmate noted, and it was only now, through the fog of his mind, that he thought to recognize the voice. He looked up and squinted toward her in the darkness.

Miyako didn't seem to be hurt, though she was already half-covered in the dust and dirt of the cell. In her voice, he thought he detected a bit of fear and panic, but she looked mostly calm. For the moment, she was casting a concerned gaze in his direction.

"What happened?" she now asked.

"I fell down the stairs," he admitted somewhat reluctantly. It seemed to be such a silly thing to have happen, and so he returned to his self-inspection. There was indeed blood upon his knees, unsurprising given the harsh treatment to which they had been subjected. His elbows were sore as well, but they did not seem to be bleeding.

"Those steep stone steps?" Miyako asked in alarm. "Oh, good heavens. No wonder you're bleeding. I'm surprised you're in one piece."

"Yeah," Ken said in agreement. "It wasn't fun." He sighed, leaning back against the door behind him. "Did they bring us all here?"

"I think so," she replied, "but it's only us two in this cell." She paused. "There's some water over there, if you'd like."

She had crawled forward through the cell, close enough that they could clearly see one another, close enough that she could squint toward him in examination of his bruises. Ken considered the option of water, but decided it could wait, as he had no desire to move.

They sat in silence for a few moments. He shut his eyes and chose to avoid the concerned and worried looks she was casting toward him. "I'll be fine," he said at last, which did not seem to quell her fears.

"I was worried," she said quietly. She had pulled her knees into her chest and was hugging them close to her. "I couldn't see you, so I was worried you had slipped out again, and they would know."

Ken opened his eyes again and turned toward her, but now it was Miyako who had turned aside, intently studying the dusty stones at her feet. After a moment of consideration, he admitted, "I told him I'd be careful."

"I don't know how much good that'll do," she admitted, "but…." She trailed off, noting something odd.

From the tiny window in the door now floated two tiny, bright white glowing spheres. They gently wafted down to hover between the prisoners.

"What…?" Miyako asked. As one of the objects was hovering directly in front of her, she reached out and took it in her hands. Almost immediately, it stopped glowing, and she looked down to examine it.

"Wait…," Ken said, but it was far too late to stop her. "We don't know what they are."

Miyako was studying the small object in her hand. "They're important," she replied with certainty. "I'm pretty sure they've come to us for a reason." She looked toward him again. "That one's yours."

"How do you know that?"

"It must be," she reasoned, "since it's come right to you."

There was no arguing with this logic. With slightly more caution than Miyako, Ken reached forward and took the floating sphere in his hand.

* * *

The mug of tea was empty, the small cake reduced to only crumbs. Mimi frowned thoughtfully at nothing, pondering all that had happened, all that she had been told.

The odd little man Gennai had told her that the small blue box was called a digivice and that it had come to her because she would need it to fight some sort of threat. But what threat might there be?

Though she had spent quite a bit of time of late in Tachikawa, Mimi was often aware of the news and politics of the day. If there were trouble brewing between Yagami and another kingdom, she would likely have heard of it. Perhaps there was some unexpected imminent invasion, or some other unforeseeable event approaching.

She was roused from these thoughts by a sudden noise coming from the digivice itself. It was resting on the table beside her now empty plate, and just as Gennai rose to take the empty plate to be washed, it began to glow brightly and make a repetitive, high-pitched noise.

With some caution, Mimi leaned in closer and saw that in the center of the box, eleven small dots were blinking brightly at her. For a long moment she stared uncomprehendingly at it.

"Ah," Gennai said, nodding. "It appears the other digivices have made contact with their owners." He took the plate and carried it to a washbasin a short distance away.

"How do you know that?" Palmon wondered, having awakened from her nap to peer across the table at the strange glowing object.

"Each of the dots you see in the center represents another digivice," Gennai explained. "A digivice reacts to the presence of another activated digivice. They are only activated by connection with their owners."

"So how do we find them?" Mimi wondered. The little old man returned to the table to study the digivice more closely.

"It works something like a compass," he replied. "Each of the dots represents the relative proximity of another digivice to this one." He peered at the object. "It appears that the remainder of the digivices are in about the same place, since the dots are all close together."

"Well, that's not good," Palmon realized. "We're not with them, are we?"

"No," Gennai agreed, "but you should be able to find them. As you get closer to the others, the other blinking dots will move closer to the center of the object." He paused to consider for a moment. "It appears that all the others are to the south of here."

"Which is the way we saw them fly when they were released, " Mimi recalled. She slid down from her chair, taking the digivice in her hand. "What are we waiting for? Let's find them, Palmon!"

* * *

It was still dark when Iori awoke, the firelight having gone out entirely. Curiously enough, the chamber was not completely dark, for he could clearly see his partner Armadimon sitting beside him, peering toward him with some alarm.

"What?" he mumbled sleepily, and blinked into the darkness. "What's going on?"

"There's a glowing _thing_ ," Armadimon reported. "I don't know what it is, but it's weird."

"What?" Iori mumbled again, and then became awake enough to note the small glowing circle hovering above him. "What is that?"

"I don't know," Armadimon said again.

"Why do you think it's come _here_?" Iori asked. "Do you suppose it's some sort of magical message?"

Again his digimon shrugged his ignorance. "If it is, I suppose it's floating _here_ because it's for you," he replied sensibly, "so you might as well take it."

With some caution, Iori put forth his hand toward the glowing object, and wrapped his fingers about it. After a bit, he felt something solid beneath his fingers, and the glowing brightness faded, plunging the room back into relative darkness.

After a moment, it began to glow again, though this time with less intensity, and Iori was able to see that it was actually a small, pale blue box. There were a few darker, raised sections on it, and a number of blinking dots in the center.

"What is it?" Armadimon asked.

"I don't know," Iori replied. "Whatever it is, it's magical. I suppose the best thing is to ask Koushiro."

* * *

For some strange reason, a bit of bravery had inspired Jyou to take hold of the floating, glowing sphere, at which point it had immediately stopped glowing and revealed itself to be merely a small blue box with a few darker sections upon it.

"What is this thing?" he wondered, looking up in time to see that the wizard Koushiro had taken the other from its hovering position. Instead of confusion, however, the wizard was beside himself with excitement.

"It's a digivice!" he said, half shouting, turning the object over in his hands. "They're really real!"

"A _what?_ " Gomamon asked, looking up at his partner with some alarm, for to see the wizard express such excitement was a rare and alarming sight.

"Wait a moment, there's a picture somewhere," Koushiro replied, hurriedly flipping through the pages of a thick and heavy book. After a moment or two he stopped at a particular page, where a crude drawing of a strange little blue box was shown.

"A digivice?" Jyou said, reading the words below it. He looked up in surprise. "Is this part of your legend?"

"It is indeed," the wizard replied.

"What is it supposed to be?" Gomamon wondered.

"It's something that the Chosen in ancient times used to evolve digimon to higher stages," Koushiro answered. "It was so long ago that no one was certain they were real, but that drawing," he pointed toward the picture, "looks exactly like these things!" He held out his own digivice, which he had not dared put down yet.

"What do they _do_?" Tentomon asked.

Before his partner could answer, however, there was a knock upon the door. Exchanging alarmed glances, both Jyou and Koushiro stuffed their newly acquired items into their pockets. Jyou leaned back in his chair, attempting to appear casual, and Koushiro cleared his throat before calling out, "Yes?"

It was Iori who appeared now, dressed still in his sleeping garments, a robe thrown over his shoulders and a pair of thin slippers to protect his feet on the cold stone ground. His partner Armadimon followed after him.

"I've got a question, sir," the boy said, shutting the door quickly behind him. "It's about something that came to me while I was sleeping."

"Oh?" Koushiro echoed, feigning casual interest, an illusion immediately shattered the moment Iori held out his hand, revealing a small blue box that looked exactly like the others.

"You too?" Jyou said in alarm. He turned toward Koushiro, and then they both drew their own digivices.

For a moment there was silence, as all present exchanged astonished glances. "What are they?" Iori asked.

"It's called a digivice," Koushiro replied, gesturing toward the book in the center of the table. Iori stepped forward, and climbed up onto an empty chair to see more clearly the drawing on the page. "If the legend is correct, it means that they are used to evolve digimon to higher levels."

"Legend?" he echoed. "That legend you were telling me about the Chosen? Does that mean that _we've_ been Chosen?"

"So it would seem," the wizard answered, at last sitting down in his chair once more. He frowned thoughtfully.

"Do you know what all these dots mean?" Iori questioned, holding out the box so that they all could see that there were a large number of dots clustered around the center, and one near the top of the box.

"They've moved," Armadimon noted. "They looked different before."

"You're right," Iori agreed. "Do you know what that means?" he asked of the wizard.

"I have a theory," the wizard replied, flipping through the pages. "I believe the digivices can be used to track other digivices."

"Track other digivices?" Jyou echoed.

"Maybe each dot is another digivice," Gomamon theorized. "How many Chosen are there supposed to be?"

"It looks like there's ten or eleven dots," Iori observed.

"The legends aren't clear on that," Koushiro admitted.

"Well, at least let me _try_ ," Hikari replied. "I know I'm no doctor, but maybe I could do _something_ for you."

* * *

Daisuke had no strength to argue, at least not with any great intensity. He shook his head. "I am to be executed, princess," he reminded her. "I can bear the pain until then."

"Don't say that," she scolded at once, which did nothing to improve his optimism. She held out the small blue box that had come to her as a glowing sphere. "Don't you think these might change things?"

It had been with a bit of reluctance that Daisuke had taken his own glowing sphere, for to him its presence did not fill him with hope for the future, but with a foreboding fear and sense of doom. Oddly enough, he had not been half so pessimistic at the thought of his execution before this, but now it seemed he was convinced of his imminent demise.

"I suppose," he admitted, more out of obedience than any agreement. They would change things, he knew. He wasn't quite sure that they would change things for the better, though.

And so he offered no further protest, but allowed her to use the drier portions of the blanket to clean some of the blood from his wounds. It was no easy task in the dim light of the cell, and the task was halted before long, as the faint torchlight in the hall was abruptly doused, plunging them into total darkness.

There was silence for a moment. "I wish they wouldn't do that," Hikari said quietly. She felt out in the darkness, found the cold stone wall, and shifted so that she was sitting up against it, comforted by the solid presence when her eyes did not work.

She heard the faint clanking of chains as Daisuke moved as well. "Maybe we ought to sleep anyway," he said quietly. "It's late."

She nodded, an unnoticed movement in the pitch black space, and listened as he moved further, adjusting the chains that bound his wrists to the wall so that he might lie down upon the cold ground. So great was his exhaustion that it was not long before Hikari heard his steady breathing slow to the speed of sleeping.

Tired though she was, Hikari knew she was not likely to sleep well upon the dusty stones. With one hand she reached out into the darkness, her fingers shortly afterward finding the still-damp hair upon his head.

"I don't want you to die," she whispered.


	14. Identity

**Identity**

* * *

As night crept into morning, the cells of the dungeon grew quiet, all conversations between the prisoners ending as they passed into an exhausted sleep in the enforced darkness.

As the sun rose, bits of light filtered through into these underground rooms.

Sora had fallen into sleep beside Taichi. She had taken his hand in her own, having taken hold of it before passing into her own slumber. Though her own sleep was peaceful, only faintly disturbed by vaguely frightening dreams, the prince found his own rest to be much more fitful, troubled as he was by both the chains that bound his wrists and the injuries upon his body. A short distance away, both their digivices sat beside one another, blinking silently.

Takeru and his brother had also fallen to sleep, the younger much easier than the older. The presence of the digivice had only served to strengthen the optimism in the younger brother, and to push Yamato toward a number of darker thoughts that delayed his descent into sleep. Once there, he was troubled by his dreams of red flashing light and his partner Gabumon. He had stuffed his digivice into his pocket, but Takeru held his in a tight grip as he slept.

After Daisuke had passed into a deep slumber, motivated by both exhaustion and pain, Hikari had stayed awake for some time longer, listening to the sound of his quiet snoring in the darkness of the cell. For a time, she stroked her fingers through his hair, which seemed to aid in his sleeping, and then, somewhat boldly, she had shifted both herself and him so that his head was resting somewhat more comfortably upon her lap. After quite some time, she, too, had fallen into sleep, still leaning against the wall.

In the final cell, Miyako and Ken had fallen asleep not long after the darkness had engulfed them both. The initial plunge into lightlessness had panicked her, and she reached out in alarm. Offering comfort, Ken had allowed her to grasp hold of his arm with a grip almost as strong as that used by the guards that had dragged them to the cell. Though she had loosened it a bit since then, she had not let go voluntarily, and he had not suggested it. As such, they had fallen to sleep upon the cold stone floor lying quite close to one another, Miyako still tightly holding on to him.

Above ground, Koushiro had fallen to sleep upon his books, which was a common occurrence for him, but both the doctor Jyou and Iori had returned to their own bed chambers, carefully concealing their digivices in night table drawer or beneath pillows.

Outside, a young lady in a ruffled pink dress at last arrived at the palace gates. She approached from the northbound road on foot, her carriage having departed despite her orders to wait. She had spent a few short hours napping in the tiny cottage with the tiny mystical man, and at first light, she followed the blinking lights of her digivice to the palace entrance.

She had not considered hiding her digivice, nor making secret of her presence, despite the unusual circumstances of the device's appearance, and so she held it out, watching as the clustered dots grew closer and closer to the center of the little box.

Whatever this object was, she thought, it was certainly a magical object. The best thing to do in this matter was to consult one of the wizards, and the best wizard she could think of was the one called Koushiro. Though not the head of all the wizards, he was the only one with whom she'd had any sort of conversation, and the only one who did not immediately intimidate her by his mere presence, aided most likely by his age, as he was quite closer in age to her than the numerous elder wizards.

The guards at the gate made no question of her presence, but, recognizing her easily, allowed her to pass into the inner courtyard. In the post-dawn light, Mimi made her way through the main doors and into the spacious foyer, then paused a moment to consider her next direction.

Being as it was still quite early in the morning, she was not surprised to find that there were few people milling about in the courtyard, but it was a bit of a surprise to find that there were not more guests and visitors near the foyer, preparing to depart. For a moment, Mimi pondered this fact, but then was immediately distracted by the presence of a boy she recognized passing through the foyer with an armful of papers.

"Iori!" she said, startling him. He turned and recognized her at once, then passed his papers to another boy passing by at that moment.

"Lady Mimi," he said, coming closer and bowing politely. "Forgive me, I was not aware of your arrival today. If you'll wait, I will see if his majesty is available, but he's rather busy this morning…."

"Oh, that's quite all right," she replied, waving this aside. "I know I've likely missed all the festivities and parties," she said with a sigh, "but at the moment I've more of a magical question."

"A magical question, ma'am?" Iori echoed blankly, as he had no ability to answer such questions.

"Yes," Mimi answered. "It's rather a long story, but I found this thing in the woods," and here she held out a small blue box that she was carrying in one hand, "and I was thinking that Koushiro might be the best person to ask about it."

The boy's eyes grew wide at the sight of this small blue box. Lowering his voice to a near whisper, he said, "My lady, I beg you will not announce such a thing too loudly."

This plea alarmed Mimi somewhat, but before she could say anything further on the topic, Iori replied in a normal volume, "I shall take you to him, ma'am. Please, follow me."

The chamber in which Koushiro did most of his work (and sleep, to be honest) was located partially underground. Mimi had never much liked descending into the lower levels of the palace, but this section was well furnished with torches and lamps to light the way, making it almost as pleasant as the above-ground corridors.

She didn't quite understand the warning Iori had given about secrecy, but she kept silent in the empty hallway nonetheless. After some time, Iori halted before a heavy wooden door and knocked several times before a voice from within answered, permitting them entrance.

It was obvious that the wizard had not been up for long, for he was heating a pot of tea and rummaging for some clean mugs as they entered. He did not turn away from this activity immediately, and so Iori announced their arrival.

"Sorry to bother you, sir," he said, "but she wished to see you at once." He paused meaningfully and then added, "and I think you ought to tell her what's been going on."

"Oh?" Koushiro asked, turning aside from his shelf with a couple of mugs in hand. He nearly dropped them all at the sight of Mimi. "Ah, Lady Tachikawa," he said, recovering enough to smile a pleasant greeting. "How can I help you?"

Iori had shut the door. Mimi glanced briefly toward him and then decided that she might as well state out loud her purpose in coming. "I found something odd in the forest to the north of here," she reported. "I was hoping I might have some magical advice."

"Found something?" the wizard echoed, and then nodded in understanding as she held out the digivice. "Ah," he said, nodding toward Iori. "I suppose she must have been the dot apart from the others."

"Seems that way," Iori replied in agreement. He set to work removing a few books from a nearby chair so that Mimi might have a seat upon it, and Palmon climbed up to sit on the one beside it.

"So you have one, too?" she asked, to which the boy immediately produced his own.

"Both of us," he explained, "and the doctor as well."

"Doctor?" Mimi echoed. "Do you mean Jyou?"

"The one and only," Koushiro replied, having taken a few more mugs out and set them upon the table. "We know there are more of them, but we haven't yet had time to determine who received them."

"Eleven," Mimi said. "There are eleven all together – or at least that's how many were in the box in the forest when I found them."

" _You_ found them?" the wizard asked.

* * *

The table at the center of the room was covered with charts, maps, books, and papers. Several pots of ink, with pens standing upright, threatened to topple over and destroy a few of the documents.

A short distance from the table, the King of Yagami stood, peering over a single faded document, reading and rereading it under his breath as he had already done, dozens of times.

He was dressed somewhat plainly, for it was still early in the morning and he had yet to add many embellishments to his clothing. His boots were polished so that they nearly shined, and the gold buckles glimmered, but otherwise he wore only a plain set of black trousers and a loose-fitting white tunic, bound about his waist with a somewhat plain belt. He had not yet donned jacket, robe, crown, sword, or any other of his favorite regal accessories. Nonetheless, he was an imposing figure, and there would be no doubt of his royalty to any who might have seen him.

For the moment, however, he was alone in this small chamber, studying his documents and pondering over the meanings of words. This would change, however, for at that moment came a knock upon the door.

"Enter," the king commanded, and he turned to note that it was his wife who now entered the chamber.

Unlike her husband, the Queen was fully dressed for the day in an elegant gown of dark red trimmed with gold thread. Her hair was done up in some fashionable manner that her husband had never spent much time in thinking about, but involved a number of golden-colored ribbons as well. Shutting the door behind her, she paused before speaking to asses her husband's mood.

"They will shortly serve breakfast," she reported. "Will you join us?"

He absently waved his hand in dismissal of this most mundane thought. "Tell them to bring it here," he replied. "I've too much work to do, figuring this thing out."

"Have you made no progress?" she asked.

"Very little," he replied, holding out the document so that she could examine it for herself. "I can identify our children, of course, they are easy enough, but most of the others are still a mystery."

"Prophecy is never clearly written," the Queen noted sagely, scanning over the document. "Perhaps if I read some of it aloud?"

He waved his hand again, indicating his skepticism, but made no disagreement, and so she began. "Well, there is 'Steadfast Light' and 'Defiant Courage…."

"Already identified," the King interrupted, "as Hikari and Taichi." He paused. "Do you disagree?"

She shook her head. "No," she admitted with a sigh. "They seem to fit."

There was a moment of silence between them. The King turned to study the view outside the nearest window, beyond which he could clearly see a rise of land behind the palace, a flat-topped hill. "Continue," he ordered.

"Well, there is 'True Love'," she continued, "which I believe you had identified as Sora…."

"She fits quite well," he replied. "Go on."

"'True Friendship,'…," she read. "You know my thoughts on that one."

"And you know mine," he replied, "I believe that is the elder brother of Ishida."

"It may be so," she conceded, though her disagreement on this matter was somewhat apparent. "I wonder if 'Difficult Hope' is the younger one, then."

"Takeru?" the King questioned, and paused to consider this. "I suppose he may well fit. It does seem as though he is involved. But the next three…?"

"'Faith of Self', 'Knowledge of All', and 'Purity of Thought'," she read. "Who might you know who is knowledgeable?"

"A dozen different people," he answered. "Wizards, doctors, experts all. Yet none who have expressed rebellion of late." He waved his arm in frustration, took a few steps into the room and then turned.

"It doesn't make any sense," he finally said, half shouting, and pounded his fist upon the table.

The Queen was silent for a long moment, waiting as her husband calmed his anger and turned away from her once more. "Read on," he said.

"It lists then again 'Difficult Hope,' and 'Steadfast Light'," she replied, "as well as 'Pure Love, seduced by Enemies' and 'Courageous Friend, seduced by Enemies."

"The last two, I feel I have identified," the King reported, "as the traitor of Motomiya and the daughter of Inoue." The Queen said nothing in response to this, though her husband noted that she avoided his gaze.

"There is no doubt that he is a traitor," he said, "is there?"

She was quiet a moment, and then shook her head. "There is none, no," she answered at last. "And the daughter of Inoue does seem to fit as well."

"The last one, then," he commanded.

"Faithful Self, Aided by Knowledge," she read obediently, but this as well produced no burst of understanding.

Another long moment of silence passed. The King walked again to the window and studied the distant hill. Already, the workers had begun the task of pounding the stakes into the soft ground.

"Tonight is the full moon," the Queen said quietly. "If it is to be done, it ought to be done tonight, unless you wish to wait another month."

"I don't think I _can_ wait that long," he replied. "It won't be much longer before Ishida comes pounding on my door demanding to know where his sons have gone to." He sighed, turned away to cross the room and sink into an overstuffed armchair.

"The others I have no fear of. Lord Inoue will keep silent as he has always done, even if his daughter's life hangs in the balance. Motomiya is already crippled enough, and Lord Ichijouji lies dying, if he hasn't already passed."

"And Lady Takenouchi?" the Queen asked quietly.

"I have no reason to fear a widow," the King answered dismissively. "No, the only one who might well muster trouble is Ishida, but if he gets the others on his side…."

"Is it possible you might release those two alone?" she wondered.

"And then somehow convince them to return in a month's time?" He scoffed in disagreement. "Not likely." He shook his head. "No, it must be done tonight, there can be no further delay."

There was again silence between them. "I will tell them to bring your breakfast here," the Queen said at last, turning to leave.

"Yes," he agreed, "and tell Iori I want to see the Captain of the Guards. If this is to be done, it must be done soon."

* * *

 _To achieve the greatest power,_

 _to become truly renowned_

 _from those who would oppose him_

 _a leader's strength is found._

 _Those who would oppose him,_

 _are those who must be destroyed,_

 _are those whose strength must be taken_

 _for leaps forward to be made._

 ** _Defiant Courage_** _, the one who would lead,_

 _stands to the north and must firstly be destroyed_

 _whilst his_ _ **True Love**_ _stands as witness and_

 ** _True Friendship_** _right beside._

 ** _Knowledge of All_** _, would aid this leader_

 _and his mind ought be destroyed_

 ** _Faith of Self_** _would offer guidance_

 _turned away from true leadership_

 ** _Difficult Hope_** _faces westward_

 _giving false hope to traitors_

 ** _Purity of Thought_** _is present,_

 _for a traitor's will does not falter_

 ** _Steadfast Light_** _, the deepest traitor,_

 _aligned_ _ **to Courageous Friend, Seduced by Enemies**_

 _and_ _ **Pure Love, Seduced by Enemies**_

 _for the pull of the enemy is great_

 ** _Kindness, Hidden in the Dark_**

 _faces east, the last to be_

 _Is he an ally or a traitor?_

 _that remains now to be seen._

 _To the south, is now corrupted_

 _once_ _ **Faithful Self, Aided by Knowledge**_

 _would stand against his duty_

 _and bring the Evil forth._

 _Yet the Darkness soon shall pass_

 _and to regain his strength_

 _the leader need only_

 _Gain strength from his enemies._

No matter how long he had stared at the page, or reread the words, the King had made little sense of most of the prophecy. He had identified a few of the people named within it, but not all.

He had allowed no one to come and see him, cancelled all his appointments for the day, permitted no interruptions for any matter. The answer must be determined by midnight if it was to be determined at all. There was no time to waste.

In frustration, he slammed his fist against the beleaguered wooden table, denting the top a bit more than he already had done from many poundings. He leaned back in his chair and thought seriously about taking a nice nap. It was going to be a long nap.

"Everything all right?" a voice interrupted, and the King once more opened his eyes to see Leomon standing before him, a somewhat concerned expression on his face. He noted the dented table, the King's expression, but wisely declined to comment upon them.

"Tired, that's all," the King replied, brushing aside his partner's question. "Trying to understand this damned prophecy gives me headaches."

"Are you sure it is wise to trust Yagami prophecies?" the feline digimon questioned.

"What other choice do I have?" the king returned shortly. He got to his feet. "Like most prophecies it makes no sense, but will prove to be correct in the end."

Leomon nodded with some sympathy but offered no further comment. Already he had voiced his distrust of prophecy, but following it in the past had brought them luck, so there was no reason to suspect this one might do otherwise.

"I can't figure out how Ichijouji fits in, either," the King mumbled to himself as he crossed to the window. All of the stakes had now been pounded into the ground, and the sun was high in the sky.

"You're certain he's involved?"

He snorted. "He must be, if Motomiya is involved. The two of them are nearly inseparable." He paused to consider. "I just don't see how he fits."

There was a sudden knock at the door, which the King was inclined to ignore, but the door opened regardless to reveal a particularly brave man, the Captain of the Royal Guards.

"Your majesty," he said, and dropped at once to his knees, aware of the King's ice-cold gaze, "I beg pardon for the intrusion, but there has been a development you may wish to hear of."

"What development?" the King demanded, his anger clear in his voice.

"As we were assembling the prisoners, your majesty, we found a particular item concealed on each of them." He held out his hand. "This one was taken from your son, but each of them has one."

The King stepped forward and took in the sight of the small blue box. He reached out one hand and lifted the small object. It felt warm to the touch, almost hot, and but there was nothing else of interest, and no clue as to its purpose.

"What is it?" Leomon wondered.

"I'm not sure," the guard admitted. "It doesn't seem to _do_ anything."

"It is undoubtedly some sort of talisman the traitors use to identify themselves to one another," the King replied dismissively, tossing the small box back to the guard. "Return it to him, if he is intent upon keeping it – I doubt it will be of much help."

"As you wish, sire," replied the guard. "There is something else you may wish to know."

The King did not speak, for his anger had not yet abated, but nor did he prevent the Captain from speaking, and so the man continued.

"We discovered two further traitors, attempting to break into the dungeon to communicate with the prisoners," he reported, "the Lord Physician Jyou of Kido, and the wizard known as Koushiro."

The King was astonished by this development. "No!" he gasped. "This is most disturbing. Rebellion has spread further than I thought."

"When we searched the wizard's chambers, your majesty, we discovered two more with these odd objects," the guard continued. "We have taken them prisoner as well, if you do not object."


	15. Prisoners

Koushiro opened his eyes to a rather painful headache, made all the more worse by the bright sunlight that suddenly assailed him. He was only vaguely aware of a faint soreness in his body, and even less aware of his surroundings.

"Yes," he could then hear the King's voice saying. " _Knowledge of All_ , I should have known. Put him beside the elder Ishida."

Before Koushiro could attempt to understand what this meant, he felt himself being dragged to his feet. He blinked in the bright sunlight as his body was pushed up against something solid and ropes were wrapped about him. It was not much longer afterward that he realized he was tied securely to a tall wooden post that had been driven into the ground.

The King paused long enough to approve the strength of the bonds upon the wizard and then moved away, and the young wizard turned his eyes around him.

He was tied to a post on the top of a low grassy hill some distance from the palace. Glancing around, he saw that there were twelve posts altogether, arranged in a circle. Directly to his left, Koushiro saw Yamato, who was struggling violently against his ropes, and into whose mouth had been stuffed a cloth, for apparently he had not been willingly silent.

It was not the elder of Ishida who caught the attention of Koushiro, however, but the figure directly beyond to this, tied to the northernmost post in the circle. He appeared to be quite weak, barely conscious, and his head drooped down against his chest, which even through his thin tunic could be seen to be covered with blood.

"Your highness," Koushiro gasped in surprise, for this battered figure was the prince, the King's own son. At the sound of this, Taichi lifted his head and met the wizard's eyes with his own gaze. Though neither spoke another word to each other, Koushiro glimpsed a strength of will within the prince's eyes that he did not expect.

Beside him stood Sora, who appeared to be only dusty and dirty, but in no way injured, though the ropes were tied tightly enough around her that they might be expected to cause bruising before long.

Beside Sora was Mimi, who was the least disheveled of them all, having spent not a moment within the dungeon. As Koushiro passed his eyes over the lady, she shrugged apologetically, and he sighed, for he had hoped that by leaving her in his chambers she would be kept safe, but this was not the case.

A noise in the other direction distracted him, and he saw now Jyou being secured to another post. "I really don't understand what's going on," the doctor protested, "I am _not_ a traitor."

The King reached out, removing from his pocket a small blue box. "Ah, but you are, doctor," he replied in a mocking tone, "and _this_ proves it." He flipped the box in the air as though it were a coin, and then returned it to the doctor, tucking it inside the collar of his shirt.

"It doesn't prove anything!" Takeru retorted, surprising all the others. "We _all_ received on in the middle of the night and did not ask for it. I've never done anything traitorous in my life!"

"Then you have a selective memory, younger _Ishida_ ," the King replied, spitting out the name as though it were an insult. "Are you not the one who declared he would stand by the traitor?"

"Your majesty," one of the guards interrupted before Takeru could think of a retort, "what of this one?"

Koushiro now turned his eyes toward the latest of the prisoners brought in to be tied, and saw that this was Iori. He was not struggling, but the anger within his eyes was quite clear to those who knew what they were seeing.

The King was peering over a piece of paper, mumbling to himself. "He cannot be kindness," he was saying, "but then, neither can Ichijouji."

"Father, please," Hikari spoke up then. "What has _Iori_ done?"

"Keep quiet," the King replied. "I need not explain my reasons to traitors."

Though this was obviously an unsatisfactory response, Hikari obediently fell silent, sensing that provoking the King would be an unwise decision. She turned her head aside, catching sight of her brother, almost directly across the circle from her, weakened and covered with his own blood. Directly to her right was Daisuke, in a similar situation.

' _If I have some means to prevent it,'_ Hikari thought then, _'I won't let anyone else be hurt like that again._ Anyone. _'_

As for Daisuke, exhaustion, weakness, and pain had left him only vaguely aware of the situation around him. All he had known the last few days was pain, and he thus expected that either further beatings or his own execution would come soon. Distantly, he could hear Hikari speaking, could hear the King's voice, could hear conversation amongst some of the others, but little of it made sense to him.

"Daisuke," a voice interrupted his meandering thoughts, and he opened his eyes to bright sunlight. He blinked a few times and managed to turn his head toward Miyako, who had been tied to the post beside him.

"Why…?" he mumbled, but she did not hear this.

"Are you all right?" she asked instead. "You don't look well at all."

Weakly he shook his head. "I will live," he said, "a bit longer."

"Please do," Miyako replied. "We need you."

"Need me?"

He did not hear her response, however, because at that moment all conversation halted, for the King was shouting loudly. He was waving a bit of paper around and yelling something about Ichijouji and Hida, Kindness and Faith.

 _'_ _Ichijouji_?' Daisuke wondered, but the rest of the King's statement seemed to make little sense to him.

"Answer this," the King then ordered, turning toward Iori. "Have you faith in yourself?"

Iori stared at him blankly, for he hadn't a clue how to answer. "I don't know," he admitted. "Maybe?"

"I need an answer, and I need it _soon_ ," the King replied. "Answer yes or no!"

Iori thought about it a few moments longer, but under such pressure he was hard-pressed to convince his mind to react. "I…yes?" he questioned.

This was more of a question than an answer, but it seemed to serve the King's purposes, and so Iori shortly thereafter was tied to the post between Hikari and Takeru, and Ken to the last empty spot, between Miyako and Mimi.

When this had been completed, the King vanished, taking most of the guardsmen with him, leaving only three to stand at the outskirts of the circle and keep watch.

"Well," Jyou said after a bit of stunned silence had passed, "I believe that might be the oddest thing that's ever happened to me, including last night."

"I don't know about that," Mimi said, "last night was pretty odd." She shifted her arms, but the ropes were tied tightly, and so she sighed heavily. "Has anyone got any idea why we're here? I don't recall ever doing anything traitorous."

"If you've got a digivice, that's probably enough," Jyou told her with a sigh.

"We think the King has some plan to evolve Leomon," Sora said in answer to the question. "I didn't know you'd arrived yet, Mimi."

"Just last night, or rather this morning," she explained. "On my way here, last night, I happened to open a metal box in the forest. Inside were a bunch of little blue boxes. Most of them flew off, one stayed with me, and then Palmon evolved and fought a really large stuffed bear."

"Palmon _evolved_?" Sora echoed, and this information astonished the rest of them as well.

"So the digivices really _do_ work," Takeru observed.

"And you were the one that released them," Miyako realized.

Mimi nodded to both questions. "Yes," she replied, "though I had no idea doing such a thing would brand me as a traitor!" She frowned in displeasure for a moment, and then took note of Miyako. "We have not met, have we?"

"Miyako, of Inoue," she replied. "You must be Mimi."

"Of Tachikawa," Mimi replied with a nod. "Nice to meet you."

There was a muffled grumble from somewhere in the northeast corridor of the circle, and Yamato at last spit out the cloth that had been shoved into his mouth. "If everyone's been _introduced,_ " he said with some displeasure, "can we talk about the subject at _hand_?"

"There is no excuse for not being polite," Mimi scolded him.

"It seems the theory Koushiro had is correct," Sora said before an argument could break out, "that the King is going to attempt to drain our strength, or perhaps the strength of our digimon."

"Tonight would be best," Koushiro agreed, "as it will be the full moon."

"Is that important?" Miyako wondered.

"Enchantments of all kinds have more strength under a full moon," Hikari recalled, to which the wizard nodded.

"Indeed, and there have been other important magical occurrences in this precise location," the wizard agreed. "For instance…."

"The history will have to wait, Koushiro," the prince interrupted, surprising them all. "Is there a way to get us _out_?"

"Not that I can see, your highness," the wizard replied with a frown. "I find it rather difficult to cast any useful spells without the use of my hands, so unless someone was able to untie themselves, I don't see any way."

"I can barely _feel_ my fingers, never mind use them," Takeru reported with a sigh.

All further conversation was brought to a halt then, as a crowd of soldiers drew closer, a wooden cart between them. Within this cart were a number of small boxes that shortly later became clearly visible as cages, holding a number of small digimon.

Almost at once, the digimon began to clamor and shout out for their partners, some of them shaking their cages with some vigor. Several of the humans began to strain against their ropes, but it was impossible for anyone to free themselves.

"Keep silent, all of you!" commanded the guard captain. He cast his eyes over the cages, and then over the humans also. "I don't wish to hear a sound from _any_ of you, and if I do…."

Almost at once, the digimon fell silent. With two or three humans holding out sharp swords and several of their Gotsumon partners standing by as well, each of them obediently submitted to being collared and chained before being attached to the post beside their human partner.

Agumon was weak enough that he only half-stumbled from the box, and would not have fought against the swords in any case. When he'd been deposited beside his partner, he leaned forward to hug Taichi around the knees, quite relieved to be reunited, before collapsing upon his feet.

After a short while, and with little incident, the digimon were released and set beside their partners. As they had more movement available to them, each digimon went at once to his or her partner and embraced that which they could reach.

"Daisuke!" V-mon wailed loudly, for they had been separated for quite some time, and his partner was much worse than when they had last seen each other. Tears streamed freely from his eyes, and Daisuke awoke from his half-asleep state to take note of his partner's distress.

"It's all right," he said quietly, "I'm all right for a little longer."

V-mon now tightly embraced his partner around the legs. "We shouldn't be apart," he mumbled. "I won't let them take me away from you again. I won't."

None of the other digimon appeared to have been badly injured or even terribly weak. They reported that they had been given food, though most of it was tasteless gruel, and water, and not harmed in the slightest.

"Do you suppose that it's possible that we might _now_ escape?" Yamato questioned, suddenly optimistic. He looked toward his partner. "Do you think you could get some of these ropes off?"

Gabumon studied the collection of ropes about his partner's arms and shook his head. "Not without hurting you," he admitted with a frown, "and I don't think I could get _this_ off." He gestured toward the chain about his neck.

He hesitated a moment. "Although, I wouldn't mind being left behind if you could go free."

"No," Yamato disagreed at once. "I cannot leave without you."

Silence fell over them all at once.

"Well, now that we have the digivices, we _should_ all be able to evolve our partners, right?" Mimi asked. "Although," she admitted, "I don't know how to do that on purpose."

"Evolve?" Agumon questioned, lifting his head from where it had been resting upon his partner's feet. "You've _evolved_?"

Palmon nodded. "It was pretty exciting," she admitted. "I got to be a lot bigger and stronger, and more powerful." She grinned, then sighed. "Right now, though, I just feel kind of tired."

"I don't think they're strong enough to evolve, unless there's something more to the process," Miyako admitted, studying Hawkmon. Though he had seemed none the worse for wear upon first arrival, he had shortly thereafter seated himself beside her and now looked as though he might fall into sleep.

"Maybe if we'd eaten something more than gruel," Sora thought aloud, "they might have more strength."

"The theory," Koushiro recalled, "is that if there is enough danger, a digimon will evolve to protect the human partner. "I believe having a digivice is necessary, but _willful_ evolution might take more…practice?"

"We're in plenty of danger," Takeru pointed out, "just not a danger that can be fought."

"We're in danger of starving to death," Jyou commented, shifting in his ropes, "and maybe losing circulation in the hands."

"How much longer will we have to wait before something happens?" Hikari asked. She was looking at Daisuke, who was allowing his eyes to fall shut, drifting out of consciousness and growing paler by the moment.

"Probably a while," Koushiro replied. "The power of the full moon is strongest at midnight, and as it's only just now sunset, that'll likely be some time away."

* * *

It was far too dark to see. The guards keeping watch had a few torches, but they were distant enough from the circle that it was hard to see within the circle. Despite being uncomfortably bound, upright, many of them had fallen in and out of sleep over the last few hours.

"I can see them," Yamato said then in a quiet voice, spotting a distant light approaching, moving slowly closer.

There were a dozen further guardsmen, each dressed in an impeccable uniform, carrying a shiny sword. The leader carried a lamp above his head and he now passed into the center of the circle and held it aloft.

Behind him followed a shorter figure, dressed in oversized wizard's robes, carrying a large book of what they could only assume to be spells. Leomon, following, carried a large wooden table in his arms with ease, and he set it now in the center of the circle. The wizard set the heavy book upon the table and then stepped back.

The King entered the circle, carrying his own lamp, and set it upon the table. He nodded toward the guard, who set down his light as well, and then he and the rest of the guards moved to the outside of the circle.

"Will this take long?" came the voice of the Queen, though she and her partner Elecmon stood outside of the circle, watching.

"No, it won't take much time at all," the King replied.

"What are you going to do?" Taichi asked, the only one of the prisoners who dared to speak at that moment. Both his parents ignored the question.

"It's a quick spell," the wizard informed him as the King began to flip through the book for the right page. "It probably won't hurt, only weaken."

Taichi cast a look of such severe displeasure toward the little wizard that he actually took a few steps back.

"How much time have we got?" the King asked, and his wife looked at an hourglass she had carried with her.

"A few more minutes, that is all," she reported.

"If the spell is to work correctly, they must all have the devices on them, I think," the wizard said in a rather timid voice.

"Very well," the King replied. "In that case, see that they do."

With some reluctance, the wizard went around the circle, approaching each of the prisoners and poking his hands into pockets until he had located the small blue boxes. Most had them in their pockets, though the act of locating pockets within the ladies' skirts was a bit more difficult, and the King had stuffed one down the shirt Jyou wore, though that was at least clearly visible.

He paused hesitantly before the prince, however, for Agumon bared his teeth and growled toward the wizard when he dared to approach. After several attempts, the King became aware of his difficulty and stepped forward. "Is there a problem?"

The wizard pointed fearfully toward Agumon. "He growls at me," he reported.

"Is that all?" the King replied. He stepped forward, shoving Agumon aside with his foot. The dinosaur digimon grunted in pain as he fell backward, collapsing against the ground.

The King then stared directly toward his son, and reached forward to take his chin in his hand. "Allow him to search you, or I'll do it by force," he ordered, and then released him and stepped back.

Agumon got to his feet again and went at once to his partner's side. Again, he growled, low in his throat, but this time Taichi sighed reluctantly. "It's all right Agumon," he said quietly. "He won't hurt me."

"Are you sure?" Agumon questioned, disbelieving. At his partner's nod, he stepped backward and settled for watching the wizard with a serious glare, as the other digimon had done. Like the others, Taichi had stuffed his digivice into the pocket of his trousers, and it was quite easily located.

Having at last completed his task, the wizard returned to the book that had been set upon the table. "We are ready, your majesty," he said then.

The King cast his eyes toward the Queen, who nodded. "Excellent," he replied. "Begin."

The wizard then began to read the words imprinted in the book.

 _Let the energy from these Chosen_

 _flow through the air again_

Miyako noted with some alarm that there was a strange feeling, a tingling in her spine that was not terribly unlike the tingling that had accompanied the numbing of her hands as they lost circulation from the ropes. Looking around, she saw that the others were also reacting to a similar feeling.

 _Let the energy from these ancient objects_

 _that once were formed to protect_

 _these that have been Chosen_

 _Their energy shall flow again_

 _At my command!_

Miyako felt some other strange and indescribable feeling, almost as though something inside her were being pulled outward. The digivice in her pocket now began to make noise, to emit a steady, high-pitched sound.

"What's going on?" she heard Daisuke wonder from beside her, but when she turned to face him, she found that she could not see him – could not see anything, in fact, because of the light bursting from the digivices.

She turned back toward the center and saw that the same blinding white lights were bursting from all around the circle, from each of the digivices, enveloping the King, the wizard, the book, and Leomon in the center.

Somewhere, Miyako thought that maybe she could hear Mimi shouting, but she couldn't tell if it was words or merely noise. The high-pitched noises from the digivices grew louder, and within her pocket, she could feel the little blue bouncing about as though demanding to be released.

The wizard was still reading from the book, almost shouting to be heard over the noise.

 _Energy, transferred from them unto the power that commands_

 _Energy, flow now from these unworthy Chosen_

 _to the one they shall call Master_

 _to the one who stands before me now!_

 _Energy! Flow now to the one who is worthy of it!_

 _Flow now to he who stands before me!_

 _Flow now to where you ought to be!_

Miyako felt a sharp pain in her head, as though a dozen sudden headaches had attacked her at once. She suddenly felt her legs grow weak beneath her, and she slumped forward against the ropes.

Around her, she could hear a multitude of voices shouting in pain, and then silencing as the weakness overtook them and zapped them of the strength required to cry out. Then, she heard Hawkmon cry out.

"Hawkmon!" she called, and for a few moments she could see nothing but her partner as he stumbled to the ground, too weakened to voice his pain any longer. She was only dimly aware of the tears now streaming down her face.


	16. Resistance

None of the prisoners noticed as Leomon stepped forward, spreading his arms to absorb the energy of the white lights as they flowed into him. They did not see the King's ferocious smile of triumph as he took in this scene.

* * *

Daisuke, too, saw only V-mon, only his partner and nothing else. He was scarcely aware of his own pain and discomfort, for he had borne it for so long that he hardly felt it any longer. _'Why?'_ he found himself wondering.

Somehow, he returned to reality with this question. They were being drained. The spell was draining their energy, giving it to Leomon. It was being taken away from them, and when it was gone….

"No!" he shouted, somehow finding the strength to shout over the noise. "I won't let you have it! V-mon!"

His digivice stopped glowing, the light stopped bursting from it, stopped traveling to Leomon. Unexpectedly, the massive digimon stumbled in surprise.

V-mon, who had been hunched over in pain, suddenly sat up, his discomfort ending. He looked around him, taking in the situation, and then turned back to his partner. "Daisuke!" he called out, then went at once to him, hugging his legs.

For a moment, Daisuke was confused, and then he nodded in understanding. "We can stop him," he realized. "We don't _have_ to give in." He turned his head toward Miyako, the nearest to him, and shouted loudly in her direction.

"Don't give in!" he yelled, and then shouted louder, directing his voice toward the rest of the circle. "You don't _have_ to give your energy! Refuse him!"

"H-Hawkmon," Miyako mumbled. As Daisuke watched, the light from her digivice flickered briefly and then faded as well. Hawkmon had fallen to the ground, wings spread out beside him, and now he rose to his feet, regaining his strength.

* * *

Again, Leomon stumbled, more surprised than hurt, and now the King noticed this anomaly. "What's going on!?" he demanded.

"I-I don't know," the wizard admitted. "There shouldn't be any way to resist the draining…."

"Well they _are_ resisting!" the King pointed out angrily. "How do we stop it?"

"I-I don't know," the wizard admitted. He was flipping the pages of the book steadily, but even as he did, two more lights flickered and halted, causing Leomon to stumble once more.

* * *

"What's going on?" Ken wondered, sounding sleepy, as he opened his eyes once more. He struggled to move, but the ropes still bound him tightly. The light around him was so bright, it was difficult to see clearly.

"Ken!" Wormmon said with some relief, and he looked down to see that his partner had snuggled up beside his feet. "I'm so glad you're all right."

"We have to stop him!" Miyako was saying, and it was only now that Ken became aware of her presence, tied to the post nearest him. "Mimi!"

Ken turned now in the opposite direction and saw Mimi. Light was bursting with a powerful intensity, radiating from the digivice in her pocket, streaming to the center of the circle in which they were all tied. Palmon lay at her feet, looking weak and emitting a faint light, and Mimi herself was slumped in her bindings, eyes half shut, pale and exhausted.

* * *

Hikari saw Tailmon first when she became again aware of the world, for her partner's discomfort had been her most pressing concern until that moment. She watched with some relief as the feline digimon rose to her feet and opened her big blue eyes, blinking at the world.

"Hikari!" she said with surprise. "You stopped it!"

"I…I suppose I did," Hikari realized. She turned briefly toward Daisuke, who nodded at her, and then, understanding what had to be done, she turned in the opposite direction, where Iori stood.

"You don't…have to…give in," Daisuke was saying, though the strength he had for shouting was fading.

* * *

There had once been twelve lights shining into the center of the circle, and now there were only six. Leomon cried out, perhaps in pain, perhaps in frustration, and his roar echoed through the circle.

"No!" the King gasped. "You must stop this!"

"I-I don't know how," the wizard admitted. Sweat was pouring profusely from his brow, despite the cool spring temperature. He was flipping through the book frantically, hoping that a solution would leap off the pages and present itself to him.

"There has to be a way!" the King disagreed. "There has to." He turned, crossed the circle and strode immediately toward his son.

Taichi at least, was still mostly unconscious, head slumped against his chest, light spewing freely from the digivice in his pocket. Agumon was lying flat against the ground, unable to move.

"You must _help_ me, my son," the King said then. "For the sake of Leomon, for the sake of us _all_ , you must share the strength within you. It _must_ be done!"

It seemed as though Taichi had not the strength to resist, or perhaps he was now willing to obey his father, for he made no sound and showed no sign of life.

* * *

"Sora!" Mimi was shouting, now that she had awakened. "Please, wake up!"

"I…I can't….," Sora mumbled sleepily, even as she forced her heavy eyelids to rise. Through blurry vision she saw the small pink bird that had been with her for all time, lying upon the ground, collar and chain about her neck, a faint light glowing about her.

"Piyomon?" she asked, but her partner showed no sign of life. "Piyomon!"

The bird digimon slowly opened one eye. "Sora," she mumbled quietly. "I'm so tired."

"Piyomon!" Sora called out again, and felt spurred to action. She moved to step forward, but the ropes still bound her. Undaunted, she cried out again for her partner. She could not let Piyomon be hurt!

She was scarcely aware of it when her digivice stopped its incessant squealing, or when the light it was emitting stopped, but she was quite aware when Piyomon sat up, blinking her eyes, and turned toward Sora, apparently uninjured, strength regained.

* * *

It was most likely the sound of two voices, shouting near to his ear, that woke Takeru from his half-slumber. He opened his eyes, wondering who it was that was trying to wake him, for he was quite tired still and it must be quite early in the morning.

The first thing he saw, however, was Patamon, lying still and unmoving in the grass, and with that sight he forgot completely about the voices that had been shouting to him.

"Patamon," he mumbled with both affection and concern. "Don't leave me. You can't…leave me. Please."

The digimon opened his eyes and looked up toward his partner, an action which appeared to take a great deal of effort. "Takeru," he said. "I won't, if you don't want me to."

"I don't!" Takeru replied immediately.

* * *

Two more lights had gone out, plunging the circle into greater darkness. Leomon cried out in pain, his scream piercing the night. The wizard who had been hurriedly flipping through the book now halted his search, for the scream sent shivers down his spine.

The King turned, freezing in place, and stared toward his partner with wide eyes. There were now only four lights still glowing, but even as he stared, another went out, and the remaining three were dimming.

"No!" he cried, and turned back toward Taichi.

"You must help me," he said again. "Is it not your _duty_? Is it not the _duty_ of a son to help his father? To help his kingdom? With Leomon, we are strong, but with evolution, we will be even _stronger_.

"We will be _invincible_."

The prince, at least, showed no sign of awakening, though the light from his digivice was slowly fading.

As the other lights went out, Leomon let out another cry of agony, plunging the rest of those present into silence. All conversation between the prisoners halted, and the King turned again toward his partner.

"No!" he shouted, and then commanded the wizard, "Speak the spell again, begin the draining from the start."

The wizard had turned so many pages in the tome that he now had to seek again the original spell. Hurriedly, he again moved through the book, his hands shaking with fear.

"It's too late," said a voice unexpectedly, quietly, yet heard beneath the cries of Leomon. The wizard paused in his search and looked up. The King turned back. All eyes and heads turned toward the northernmost point in the circle.

Taichi had opened his eyes at last, and now he lifted his head to look directly at his father.

The light that had been spilling from his digivice went out. Agumon slowly rose to his feet. The circle was plunged into darkness.

"No…," the King gasped.

Leomon let loose a roar of agony and collapsed to his knees. A bright light surrounded him, temporarily blinding all those who were present. After a moment, it faded.

In the spot where the powerful feline had once stood, now knelt a small gray digimon with two long ears. He collapsed again, falling now to hold himself upward on his front paws.

"Gazimon," Koushiro realized, identifying the digimon immediately. "He's lost so much energy that he has _de-evolved._ "

Even as they watched, however, the faint light about the Gazimon did not fade, but grew briefly brighter. The digimon fell again, this time to lie upon the ground, and shortly afterward was replaced again, now with a small ball of gray.

"Pagumon!" the King shouted in surprise and rushed forward. As he took the digimon in his hands, the faint light at last faded.

There was silence for a moment. The Queen stepped into the circle for the first time, carrying the lantern. At her feet, her partner Elecmon followed, sparks flashing threateningly between his tail blades. As a warning, he shout out several bolts of electricity, causing the imprisoned digimon to step back, closer to their partners.

The Queen went to her husband and placed one hand upon his shoulder. He had knelt beside his partner, and now he got to his feet, rubbing at his eyes to wipe away the unshed tears. "For this," he mumbled darkly, "you will pay. This is not the end."

"I think it is, actually," a voice disagreed, and again all eyes turned to see that Agumon had freed Taichi from his post. In his right hand, the prince now held his digivice, his most important weapon.

For a moment, there was only a stunned silence from the King. He forced a laugh, which after a moment became more genuine. "Do you really suppose that little thing is a threat to me?" he asked, nodding toward the digivice.

"I'm certain it is," Taichi replied, his voice cold and stern. There was no laughter in his eyes.

"Taichi," the Queen said quietly, and stepped closer to her husband. "Think about what you are doing."

"I have thought about it," he answered, and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Mother, but I can't let anyone else get hurt. I can't let any more innocents be harmed."

"Innocents?" the King laughed, gesturing toward those in the circle. "You think any of these are innocents?"

"I think _all_ of them are innocent," Taichi stated. He let his eyes rest at once upon Miyako, then upon Mimi, and Sora. "You think young ladies conspire against you?"

He gestured now toward Jyou, Iori, and Koushiro. "You think these loyal servants have betrayed you? You think the sons of your most trusted lords," and here he waved toward Ken, Takeru, and Yamato, "would do harm to you?"

He paused, and then met his sister's eyes at last. "You think _Hikari_ would wish you ill? If that's true, then there's some deeper principle you've betrayed."

"No deeper principle than justice," the King replied. "For the sake of the safety of Yagami, sacrifices must be made." He held out Pagumon. "What defense do we have now?"

"Defense against _what_?" Mimi interrupted, which so astonished them all that she briefly paused to blush before continuing. "The last war was with the Northern Tribes, and they were nearly decimated, hardly a serious threat. The Northern Kingdom has been at peace with Yagami for centuries, and there is nothing but wastelands to the East and oceans to the south. Unless you believe the Western Emperor wishes us ill, I see no need for a serious defense."

This was such a rational statement that none could disagree with it. Even the King was silent in response, though it was obvious he was furiously angry. Without a word, he passed his partner toward the Queen, nodding toward her.

"What will you do now, then?" he asked of his son. As he spoke, he unbuttoned his jacket, passing it toward the wizard, who stood, unmoving, nearby. He nodded toward a guard standing nearest to the edge of the circle.

The King reached for the hilt of the sword strapped to his belt, and drew it from its sheath. In the dim light of stars and flickering lanterns, the shiny metal reflected it all, glittering brightly in the darkness.

The sound of footsteps signaled the arrival of reinforcements from the guardsmen. Added to the original assembly, the number of armed men was now easily three dozen, each partnered with a ferocious-looking digimon. Most were Gotsumon, but there were also Lopmon, Agumon, and even Mushmon, some of whom were wearing armor.

Taichi had no weapon but his digivice. He turned toward his mother. "You'll have to choose one of us," he told her, and nodded toward his sister. "Hikari will stand with me."

All eyes turned briefly toward the princess, who nodded her agreement. "Please, Mother," she said. "Help us."

The Queen hesitated a few moments, then wordlessly set Pagumon down upon the wooden table and left the circle. She was followed closely by the wizard the King had summoned, carrying the heavy magical book in his arms.

The King said nothing as he watched her departure, anger quite visible in his eyes. His grip upon his sword tightened.

Taichi glanced toward his partner now. "Are you ready?" he asked.

"Whenever you are," Agumon replied with a nod.

"I'm not giving in, Father," Taichi declared, and with these words the King raised his sword and rushed forward. Without a blade, Taichi had no choice but to step backward, ducking behind the post to which he had once been bound.

Agumon opened his mouth and shouted, " _Baby Flame_ ," toward the King, but he easily sidestepped this attack and continued on his way.

* * *

"I don't _care_ if it hurts me," Yamato was saying, "just get these ropes off!"

"All right," Gabumon said reluctantly, and reached out and attacked the ropes with his sharp claws. Within moments, the bindings upon his partner's wrists had fallen to the ground. A few small scratches released blood as well, but they were not serious wounds. With no great effort, Yamato undid the rest of his ropes, but looked up to see that several soldiers were standing beside him, swords drawn.

" _Petit Fire!"_ Gabumon shouted, and a bit of blue flame emerged from his throat, causing at least the Lopmon to step back. The Gotsumon were undeterred, however, and Yamato instinctively stepped behind the post, his only hope of defense, in order to avoid the swipe of a sword.

 _"_ _Petit Thunder!_ " came an unexpected voice, and he saw now that Tentomon had easily stunned the guard, who dropped his sword as he stumbled to his knees, losing consciousness as he fell to the ground.

"Thanks!" Yamato said in appreciation, and took the sword for himself.

* * *

Without a sword, there was little hope of winning the battle, Taichi realized as he darted to the only possible defense, behind the post. This thought had briefly occurred to him before he'd decided to take this path, but it had not deterred him in the slightest, and he certainly could not change his mind now.

He could not run, for he could not leave his partner, never mind his friends who were still bound and defenseless. He could not fight, for he had no weapon. All he could do was dodge, duck, and evade the blade, and how long would that work?

With his thoughts so preoccupied with such practical matters as survival, the young prince had no knowledge of the soldier who approached him from behind, and was thus quite surprised by the presence of a blade beside his throat, and an arm wrapped about his neck.

He ducked again, hoping to easily slip free of the grasp, but this unknown soldier was too speedy for this and took hold of his wrist, preventing further movement. The blade pressed against his skin, and the King, having at this moment come close enough to see this, grinned in triumph.

Before he could speak, however, the sound of a high pitched, repetitive noise came from somewhere nearby. A bright light burst forth, apparently from the prince's pocket, accompanied by this noise. Though the soldier holding him did not release his grasp, all others nearby stepped back from this blinding light.

"Agumon!" Taichi shouted to his partner, who was still now chained to the post and thus had been powerless to assist.

"Agumon evolve!" came the shout of the digimon, shouting over the confused mumbles of the soldiers, shouting over the blinding white light, shouting over the high pitched wailing of the digivice.

Through the blinding white light, Taichi could see his partner's shape growing larger. The metal collar which had bound him expanded, cracked, and fell uselessly to the ground, broken in half. The soldiers backed off. Taichi felt the blade at his throat move aside.

"Greymon!"


	17. Greymon

Everything came to a halt at the sight of the huge dinosaur digimon. Greymon was easily more than double his original height – more than double the height of the men standing around him. His back legs alone were taller than the guardsmen nearest him.

He opened his mouth, revealing a set of sharp and formidable teeth, and shouted a powerful roar that sent shivers down the spines of all who might oppose him. The soldiers who had not backed off at his evolution now stepped backward again, allowing their digimon to step forward.

"Mega Flame," Greymon grumbled, his voice deep and low like the roar he had released. A massive fireball escaped his jaws and landed between a crowd of Gotsumon and Lopmon. The long-eared digimon stepped backward, unwilling to roast, but most of the rock digimon remained standing, undaunted by the threat of fire.

"Now!" called one of the Gotsumon, and each of the others stepped forward.

"Angry Rock!" they shouted in unison, and what seemed to be merely tiny pebbles bounced, mostly harmless, off the body of the giant dinosaur digimon.

Greymon lifted one massive foot and stepped forward, which scattered the digimon in all directions. One of the human soldiers had dropped his weapon at the sight of this enemy, and Taichi now bent to pick it up.

* * *

As the soldiers were distracted by the presence of Greymon, Yamato used the sword he held to easily slice through the ropes that bound Koushiro, his nearest neighbor, and was now moving toward Sora.

"All right," the wizard said when he had tested to be certain his fingers would function as he needed. "Let's try this out."

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Jyou asked from his own post. "Maybe you could just untie me instead?"

"Relax," Koushiro replied. He shut his eyes in concentration, and held out his hands before him, twisting his fingers in some mysterious and magical method unknown to the doctor. Before long a tiny ball of blue light appeared, crackling with energy.

Tentomon shut his eyes and braced himself, for he had no real desire to be the first subject of his partner's experiment, and yet could not easily state such a thing. His fear appeared to be unwarranted, however, for the small energy ball collided with the chain and easily broke it into two.

"I did it!" the wizard realized, allowing himself a brief moment of triumph before he turned toward Gabumon, who was eagerly peering toward his partner, wanting to join him. Yamato had freed Sora and was now slicing through the ropes that bound Mimi.

* * *

"Easy," Hikari was saying, and Daisuke felt a pair of hands now holding him upright instead of ropes. He shook his head to clear it, and found some of the blurriness evaporate from his vision.

"What?" he mumbled, still confused. His legs wanted to collapse beneath him, but she and perhaps several others were holding him upright. His head was spinning, but slowly the world seemed to stop moving.

"It's all right now," the princess continued in an understanding sort of tone. "I'm going to get you to safety, come on."

She took his arm in hers and slowly took a few steps away from the wooden post to which he had been tied, leading him back toward the palace, away from the chaotic scene around them. Daisuke took a few steps as well and then stopped and turned back, much to her surprise.

"No," he said, suddenly feeling a bit of clarity return to his mind. "I can't leave V-mon."

The small blue digimon was still bound in collar and chain, securely attached to the post. Ropes were easy to free, but metal chains were far more difficult. Hikari made no protest, for she could not insist that he leave his partner, but watched as took the few steps back and knelt beside V-mon.

"It's all right," V-mon said bravely. "You can go without me."

Daisuke paid no heed to these words, however, only shook his head and took his partner in his arms. After a moment, he at last lifted his eyes and noted the scene around him.

The Queen had untied the ropes from her daughter, and Hikari had at once enlisted her aid in freeing Daisuke, planning to bring him inside where doctors might at last be able to tend to him. Now that this plan had been abandoned, the princess went instead to the other prisoners bound nearby and began the task of untying them. She had succeeded in freeing Miyako and then moved on to Iori – for Ken had found his own ropes quickly sliced by Yamato and his borrowed sword.

* * *

"Go!" Koushiro ordered, pointing his hand toward the palace. "To safety, wherever you can find it."

As both he and Gomamon had been freed and were not injured, the doctor saw no logical reason to disagree with such a statement, though retreat seemed at the same time to be somewhat cowardly.

"He's right," Gomamon pointed out. "You aren't much of a fighter, Jyou."

"It was never my talent," the doctor conceded, and obediently began to walk back toward the palace. He did not get very far, however, for there were still many soldiers at the perimeter of the circle, and though they had done nothing to hinder the untying, they did not seem willing to allow departure.

One of the soldiers drew his sword and pointed it toward the doctor. Jyou immediately took a step backward, and found that his foot connected with a rock. He stumbled, sat down hard in the grass, and now looked straight into the mouth of a rather angry-looking Agumon, partner of this soldier.

The yellow dinosaur digimon opened its mouth. Jyou shut his eyes and raised his arms to shield his face.

Whatever noise the Agumon might have made was drowned out now by a high pitched wail, a repetitive noise that seemed to be coming from somewhere quite nearby. The Agumon paused in his attack, confused. His partner stepped forward, sword raised.

"Gomamon evolve!"

"E-evolve?" Jyou echoed dumbly, and the soldier and the Agumon also stopped and stared. The doctor turned his head in time to see his partner, surrounded by a white light, grow larger and larger.

After a moment, Gomamon was gone, replaced with a large creature, covered with long white fur and sharp horn growing from its head. "Ikkakumon!" he announced.

* * *

"Careful with that," Takeru was saying, for he was fully expecting his brother to accidentally slice through his fingers instead of the ropes. Yamato, somewhat displeased by this lack of confidence, frowned toward the younger brother, raising his borrowed blade so that its sharpness was quite obvious.

Before he could produce a clever retort, however, the flash of white light nearby that heralded the arrival of Ikkakumon interrupted his task. Both brothers stared with wide eyes as Ikkakumon attacked.

" _Harpoon Vulcan_!" he roared, and a torpedo-like shape shot from the tip of his large horn, scattering the crowd of digimon and soldiers that had surrounded the doctor and his partner.

"Gomamon _evolved_?" Yamato gasped in surprise.

"That means we must all be able to!" Koushiro realized. He had completed the task of freeing several of the digimon from their chains and was in the process of releasing Armadimon, although Iori was still bound.

"Stop them!" one of the soldiers was shouting, and at the sound of these orders, one of the armored Agumon took the initiative and stepped through the circle toward the wizard.

" _Baby Flame!"_ he announced, which startled the wizard, and he stumbled backward quickly, tripping over his own shoes and crashing into Takeru.

"Are you all right?" Iori asked with alarm. The small dinosaur digimon was now standing beside him, preventing anyone from getting close enough to free him. A pair of Lopmon hurried to join their comrade, and the three soldiers who were partnered with them now surrounded the boy.

"Get back!" Yamato ordered, stepping forward and raising his sword. He made no progress in defense, however, for two of the three soldiers rushed toward him at the same time. The sound of metal upon metal echoed as the blades made contact.

In the meantime, the Lopmon had decided that it would be wise to attack the wizard, and so they rushed past the fighting humans. One opened his mouth and shouted, " _Blazing Ice_!" while the other turned his head, and then the rest of his body rapidly, calling out, " _Petit Twister!"_

Takeru cried out in alarm, for he had means of neither defense nor escape, as his brother had not yet untied him. Undaunted by the chains upon him, Patamon stepped between his partner and the attackers and opened his mouth wide. _"Air Shot!"_ he called, and sent a burst of air toward the spinning Lopmon. Stunned, it ceased its attack and sat down, rubbing its head.

The second, however, had fired its attack, and tiny ice crystals landed at the feet of the wizard, who only narrowly dodged this approaching enemy. He stumbled again, this time landing hard upon the soft ground.

"Koushiro!" cried Tentomon, who had been hovering as always near his partner's head. As the wizard struggled to regain his feet, the little bug digimon hurried to intercept the Lopmon. "Tentomon evolve!"

Both of the long-eared digimon halted their attacks long enough to stare at the glowing bug before them. Tentomon grew larger, and after a moment, the light faded, and a deep voice could be heard to triumphantly call, "Kabuterimon!"

* * *

Three of the soldiers had immediately moved to surround both Sora and Mimi, two paired with Lopmon, clad in sturdy armor, and the third with a rather fierce looking Agumon. As Yamato had immediately departed after untying Sora, she had moved to Mimi at once, and was in the midst of this when the guards arrived.

One of them held out his weapon toward Sora, who immediately let her hands fall away from the knots she had been undoing, holding them out in a gesture of surrender. "That's it," he said encouragingly. "Back away."

"Sora!" Piyomon squeaked, and her partner briefly glanced in her direction with a calming expression.

"I'm all right," she began, but the soldier nearest her pushed his sword even closer, toward her neck, apparently desiring silence. At once, she fell silent, and submitted to his silent gestures, urging her back toward the post where her partner was still chained.

A second man moved behind her and held her arms while the third went to Mimi, redoing the knots Sora had managed to untie. His partner Lopmon held a small spear, and he pointed it menacingly toward Palmon. As he pulled on the rope, Mimi cried out at the tightening.

"Quiet!" the soldier ordered, and yanked harder. The harsh bindings rubbed against the skin on her arms and brought a tear or two to her eyes. "Quiet!" he said again when she whimpered quietly.

"But it hurts," Mimi complained. "Does it really need to be so tight? I can hardly move as it is; I assure you I'm not going anywhere."

"Shut up, I said!" the guard replied, finishing his knots. He stepped around her and took her chin in his hand. "Keep quiet or I'll find some _more_ ropes."

To this, she once again whimpered, wordlessly this time, and tried to turn her head aside. He tightened his grip on her chin, which only increased the volume of her wordless complaints.

"Mimi!" Palmon protested, reaching past the spear that the Lopmon held out. "Mimi!"

"You keep quiet, too," the Lopmon said as sternly as is possible for a Lopmon to say anything, and poked his small spear toward Palmon. The plant digimon fell silent, looking worriedly toward her partner, who still held the attention of the guard.

Meanwhile, Sora was being led back toward her own abandoned post, walking somewhat awkwardly with arms now half-tied behind her. She stumbled over a rock and the hem of her skirts and fell to the ground, landing on her knees. This sudden action alarmed her guards, one of whom pointed his sword toward her.

"Get up!" he ordered, which was no easy task without the assistance of arms. As she struggled to do so, Sora felt the sharp blade of the sword slice through her arm, the guard's idea of encouragement, and she cried out in pain. She fell back toward the ground again, and the guard again aimed his blade toward her.

"Sora!" Piyomon called out, struggling vainly against the chain that bound her. There was a high-pitched, repetitive noise now filling her partner's ears, and then suddenly the world seemed to grow a great deal brighter.

"Piyomon evolve!" called the bird digimon, and in alarm the guards who held her partner now stepped back away. The one who had drawn his sword now dropped it to the ground and took to running, down the hill and back toward the palace, his Lopmon partner following.

The second departed as soon as he saw the evolved form of the bird digimon. "Birdramon!" cried the creature, a massive, winged digimon who appeared to be made entirely from flames. With a gentle flap of one wing, a small but deadly fireball landed in the space where this guard had once stood, scorching all the grass and leaving a dead circle.

* * *

So involved was he in watching the battle, though he could do nothing to interfere, that Takeru took no notice of the hands behind him that now hurried to undo his ropes. He was thus quite surprised when he found that he could again move.

"Duck!" Hikari warned, thus instantly solving the mystery of who had undone his bindings. Without hesitation, Takeru let his legs collapse beneath him, and he sat down upon the ground beside his pole. Looking up, he saw a small collection of tiny but sharp crystals of ice were now lodged in the post where his head had previously been located.

" _Mega Blaster!"_ called a voice, and from apparently nowhere, a bolt of what Takeru could best describe as lightning now slammed into the attacking Lopmon, immediately rendering him unconscious and somewhat singed. In response to this, the other Lopmon and the Agumon who had been attacking now retreated back to their partners, who were still surrounding Iori.

"No!" one of the soldiers cried out, and rushed forward toward the Lopmon that was his partner. Kabuterimon, hovering in the air, paid no attention to this scene but turned his attention toward the others. It was not long afterward that they, too, retreated, leaving Iori unguarded.

"Thanks!" he said appreciatively to Kabuterimon, who hovered protectively above the boy and the wizard. Koushiro now summoned his ball of energy in order to free Armadimon, and then again for Patamon, while Hikari moved to untie Iori.

"You must get to safety," Koushiro said to them all. "Retreat back indoors, at the very least."

"And abandon you all?" Yamato retorted, but the wizard was already departing, moving to use his talents to free the rest of the digimon. Kabuterimon hurried to follow after him.

* * *

It was undoubtedly an unsafe place to sit and rest, but Daisuke had little strength for standing, and this was the place in which his partner was, so he was quite insistent upon not leaving. Not long after Hikari had departed, several soldiers had moved to surround him, directing their sword blades toward him, but he paid them no attention and made no move to try to escape. They thankfully seemed content to allow him to sit on the ground and hold his partner, and did not try to retie him.

"Sticky Net!" called a small voice suddenly, and Daisuke now looked up to see that one of the guards had been bound in a thin, silky thread that was nonetheless quite strong and inescapable. Losing his balance, the man fell to the ground with a thud, continuing to struggle against his bonds.

"Feather Slash!" said another voice, and another of the guards took a step back, dropping his weapon and holding his hand to his forehead, crying out in pain.

The third of the guards was shortly after bound in the silky webbing while he attempted to free his comrade. Their partner Lopmon were similarly dispatched. Without interference, Ken stepped into the now empty space and took one of the swords from the ground. Miyako followed, and went immediately to Daisuke.

"Are you all right?" she asked, to which he merely blinked in surprise.

"If you aren't going to leave," Ken said, hefting the sword, "then I'm not leaving either."

"There's no need for any of that," the wizard Koushiro interrupted, and the others looked up then at the shadow that passed between them and the moon: the hovering Kabuterimon. Already, Koushiro held a blue ball between his fingers, sparkling with magic. "Stand back," he advised.

Daisuke at last released his hold on V-mon, who moved as far away as the length of chain would allow, and a short while later he was freed of this binding. The wizard moved on toward Wormmon and Hawkmon.

"Get to safety," he advised as he went, and pointed toward the distant palace.

Ken nodded in agreement, and stepped forward. With assistance from Miyako, Daisuke got to his feet, and they managed to take a few steps before a small contingent of Gotsumon and their partners moved to block the way.

* * *

"Come on," Takeru said, reaching out to take her arm. "He's right, we should get inside."

Hikari had turned away, however, and was watching a distant battle. Swords were clashing regularly, the King and his son fighting in earnest. This was no mild duel, but certain to be a fight to the death. The princess shook her head.

"I can't leave them," she told Takeru. "Not until I know how it will end."

It was plain that Takeru, and his brother, who stood nearby, were in disagreement with this plan, as evidenced by the frowns both now sported. "By the time it is over, it may be too late to escape," Yamato stated bluntly.

Hikari shook her head again. "I will not leave," she said. "You two get to safety, help the others get to safety." She waved one hand vaguely to indicate the rest of the Chosen. "I stay."

The brothers exchanged concerned glances. "If you stay," Takeru said at last, "then I'll stay, too." He looked toward his brother, nodding toward the sword Yamato had retrieved. "Got another one of those?"

"It doesn't seem as though you might need it much longer," Yamato replied, taking one from the ground where its owner had dropped it during a hasty retreat. "With all the large digimon, the soldiers are departing the field in great numbers."

"All the same, I think it's safer to have one," the younger brother replied, taking the weapon. It was heavier than he expected, and he frowned toward it, certain it would not be easy to fight with.

To the brothers' conversation, however, Hikari had paid no attention, but was quite occupied in watching the battle.

* * *

It seemed to be never ending, Taichi thought vaguely as he again raised his blade to block the attack. His father might have been older, and a bit slower, but he had the advantage of years of experience and knowledge.

He also had not spent the hours before eating gruel in a dungeon whilst being beaten and whipped. Though his strength and energy were greater than Taichi might have expected considering such circumstances, he was still far from peak condition, unlike his father.

Yet with each blow that came, he raised his blade or lowered it to block the attack, and every so often managed to slice one of his own. A few of those slices had even met their mark; his father had a few small cuts upon his arms and one upon his thigh, and each of these was spilling blood. Taichi, too, had suffered several blows, and a thin red line of blood had cut across his cheek.

It had been some months since he had last sparred with his father. Of late, the King had been far too preoccupied for such activities, and Taichi had found others to practice with. In days past, it had been a regular occurrence, and Taichi now recalled that it had been his father who had first placed the hilt of a sword in his hand with the intent to explain the use of the weapon.

 _'_ _He knows_ , _'_ the prince thought now as the blades clashed solidly together. His father had been his teacher, his sparring partner, he knew his weaknesses and his strengths.

 _'_ _Is there even a way for me to win this?'_ he wondered.

* * *

"That's far enough," said the human soldier who was apparently the leader. He held out his sword, pointing it toward those who would escape.

Wormmon gripped his partner's shoulder with ferocity, as he was often known to do when there was the slightest hint of danger. Ken wondered absently if he ought to consider investing in shoulder pads, or having his partner choose some other place to ride. There was now Miyako to worry about as well, for she immediately took a few steps backward, gripping his arm with nearly the same intensity.

Ken raised his sword, thankfully clutched with his free arm, pointing it back toward the soldier. "I'm taking them inside," he replied, and gestured with the blade toward Daisuke, who was half-leaning on Miyako. "He's badly injured, and she's only a girl."

Miyako might ordinarily have protested such a phrasing, but she made no voice of protest, only took a half-step backward so that she was nearly standing behind Ken. Apparently sensing that he might need to _use_ the arm she was clutching, she loosened her grip.

"Then you'll not want to upset her by dying in front of her," the soldier replied. "Set down your weapon, and you'll not be harmed."

"I don't intend to die," Ken replied with a certainty that surprised his companions. Miyako briefly tightened her grip, then released him.

"Be careful," Daisuke said, undoubtedly noting that there were _five_ human soldiers and _five_ Gotsumon now blocking their way.

Before anything further could be said, however, a large ball of flame flew from the sky and landed in the center of the soldiers.

Two of them were knocked to the ground immediately, falling into unconsciousness as they landed. The other three managed to remain upright, though their arms were burned as they rose them to shield their faces. The Gotsumon were entirely unharmed, although the two paired with the unconscious men were now also unable to fight.

Looking up, Ken saw the massive bird, made entirely of flames, fly overhead, screeching out a greeting. A moment later, the sound of thunderous footsteps signaled the arrival of a giant plant digimon, who carried Mimi and Sora in massive, red-gloved fists.


	18. Siblings

**EIGHTEEN**

* * *

Though the strength of evolved digimon would seem to have placed an advantage on the side of the rebels, the soldiers, both human and digimon, had far greater numbers. Though defeats had led to a few desertions, for the most part the soldiers were remaining on the battlefield.

As night shifted into morning and the faint light of false dawn lessened the darkness, the soldiers now regrouped. They formed into two massive groups, each easily nearing a hundred men and their partners, and surrounded the grassy plateau on all sides.

All attempts to find safety behind the palace walls would now seem to be impossible. Where once Ken and Miyako had found five men and Gotsumon blocking their way, there were now easily thirty of each standing before them.

Sora and Birdramon had wandered back into the fray, flames flying with an astonishing precision toward all those who might interfere with their progress. Mimi and Togemon, however, were quite eager to return to the palace, and as such had volunteered to add their strength to the homeward escort.

The giant cactus thus eagerly flew into battle, fists flying, but even this effort would seem to be not enough, for even she could only engage with a limited amount of soldiers at a time. Gotsumon were undaunted by such things as flying, sharp needles, and the Agumon in the group went with their partners toward the relatively undefended humans.

It was not long before Ken was swinging his borrowed sword, meeting the thrusts and swipes of two or three human soldiers at once. Miyako was left to clutch the arm of Daisuke instead, and Mimi took his other arm.

"Maybe we _shouldn't_ try to head back," he ventured to say then. With each passing moment, he thought, his mind was growing clearer, and he found he was actually able to stand and walk without having to lean continuously on Miyako. It made no sense. He should have been weak enough to barely rise from bed, yet the pain seemed to lessen as time passed.

"Feather Slash!" Hawkmon shouted, again and again, somehow managing to deter a few of the soldiers from coming closer. The Gotsumon were massing on Togemon, stone fists connecting with soft plant-like flesh. Mimi cried out in alarm.

One of the soldiers caught a feather slash across his face, slicing quite close to one eye. He cried out in pain and dropped his sword, throwing both hands to his face. At once, his Lopmon partner went to comfort him, and they shortly afterward retreated from the battle, seeking medical assistance.

Ken was faring no better against his own opponents, for he was greatly outnumbered. Already he was bleeding from several small cuts on his arms and legs, and sweat was pouring profusely from his scalp.

"Do you think it's any safer _here_?" Miyako asked Daisuke, but they were both distracted at that moment before he could answer. Ken had slipped, losing his footing in the soft grass, and fallen down to the ground. His nearest opponent now swung his sword as though with intent to behead, but Ken quickly rose his own blade to block the attack, then rolled aside and regained his feet.

"I have to help," Daisuke said then, and took a step forward. Ignoring the spinning in his head, the weakness in his arms, the now only vague pain in the rest of his body, he took a sword that had been left on the ground.

"Have you lost your mind?" Mimi asked, turning her eyes away from her partner's predicament long enough to note this insanity. Miyako, too, was staring at him with wide eyes.

"You can't fight!" she agreed, but before an argument could commence, a soldier, seeing only an enemy with a weapon, turned aside from the battle with Ken and swung his blade toward Daisuke.

Instinctively, he raised the sword to block the blow, a satisfying ring of metal on metal sounding out. Ken looked up long enough to observe this, and then was immediately distracted by another soldier rushing in his direction.

He had neither time nor strength to answer these protestations, however. As his opponent pulled back his blade, he thrust his own forward, slicing it through the man's thigh. The soldier cried out in pain, but swung his own sword overhead, intending to attack from above. Quickly, Daisuke raised his weapon and blocked the attempt.

The ladies were speechless, and even V-mon had nothing to say in protest to his partner's participation. The battle afterward was a short one, with a second leg wound being enough to cause the soldier's retreat.

Having dispatched his own enemies with somewhat more effort, Ken was able to pause long enough to wipe his brow with his hand. "I say we retreat backward," he said, gesturing the way they had come. "There's too many of them for us to make it to the palace, but if we meet up with some of the others…."

There was no argument necessary to convince Miyako and Mimi, and Daisuke unsurprisingly agreed, for even the short battle had tired him, though he had thankfully not been injured. His head was starting to spin again, and a longer fight would certainly not be a good idea.

As he began to walk, he stumbled, and Miyako went to him immediately, taking his arm to help. "You really shouldn't have done that," she said, scolding. "You really should be resting."

* * *

It was nearly dawn, but not quite bright enough to clearly see, when Jun awoke suddenly. She had not been sleeping well the past few days, and her dreams had been troubled by fears for both her brother and her mother.

Alraumon, sleeping beside her, rubbed her eyes as her partner swung her legs over the side of the bed and got to her feet. "What…?" she asked groggily.

"There's something wrong," came the answer. The morning air, even in springtime, was chilly, and she threw a robe over her thin nightgown as she rose.

"Yes," Alraumon agreed sleepily. "It's not yet morning. Go back to bed."

"Can't sleep," Jun replied dismissively, and crossed to the window. The drapes were shut, to block out the bright sunlight of morning, but it had not yet come, and the world beyond was gray and dim.

She stared into the sky, wondering about the letter she had received, and the one she had sent in return. Had her brother ever gotten her reply? How would the Dark Bandit deliver it, if he was locked in the dungeons? Was there some plan to rescue him, or were the rumors of his imminent execution true?

Jun had done her best to ignore the gossip and rumors floating about the castle. Many of those she had once called friends had largely been absent the last few days, put off by the threat of her mother's death as well as the reports of her brother's treason. She had heard from some who had been present when he was brought before the King, bound in chains, and yet still defiant.

 _Defiant,_ Jun thought, was a word easily used to describe her brother. Would such defiance now result in his death? She had never seen an execution, and she had no desire for such a spectacle, even if the victim were a stranger.

She rubbed at her eyes, pushing aside the unshed tears beginning to form. "Idiot," she mumbled, cursing both herself and her sibling.

As she turned away from the window, a flash of light caught her eye. In the distance, past the gardens and the greenhouse, there was a rise of land on the palace grounds. Normally empty, she could faintly see that a number of tall poles had been raised there, tall wooden shadows against the lightening sky.

"What on earth?" she wondered, squinting in that direction. After a moment, she again saw a flicker of light, and then another. She pushed the window open and strained to see across the space. The sound of chirping insects could be heard, and, distantly, the sounds of shouting and of metal clashing.

Jun pulled her head back inside the room and shut the window. She tied the robe she wore tightly around her waist and hurriedly found some slippers. "Alraumon!" she shouted, waking her partner, who had already returned to sleep. "Come, we have to hurry!"

"What…?" the digimon asked again. "Hurry _where_? It's not even light out yet."

"We have to go! I have to see my brother!" Jun replied, and was halfway out the door before Alraumon could rush to follow.

* * *

Nearer to the center of the circle, the fighting grew more intense, but there was something of a bubble surrounding Hikari and the brothers of Ishida, who were acting as her guards. It was with some difficulty that Miyako, Ken, and Mimi reached this bubble, half-carrying Daisuke, who had persisted in dragging the sword with him.

"I thought you were taking him inside," Hikari said at the sight of them.

Daisuke appeared to have lost the strength he had gained, and was looking quite pale. He gave up all pretense at standing upright, and sank down to sit in the dirt, breathing heavily.

"We couldn't get through," Ken reported. "There are too many guards."

"I guess we're stuck here until it's over," Mimi said with a sigh, and turned her head toward the sight of the King and Taichi, still clashing swords a short distance away.

Before anything further could be said, a group of Lopmon and their soldier partners came running directly toward them, shouting out battle cries and waving swords. Mimi took a step backward, and her partner Togemon stepped forward.

"Prickly Bang Bang!" called the giant plant digimon, and a wave of Lopmon in the front cried out in pain and retreated a few steps to pull the spines from their fur.

"Stay here," Ken said to both Miyako and Daisuke, and turned toward the battle before either could protest at his departure. Somewhat reluctantly, Miyako nodded her consent, but Daisuke was again seeming to take little notice of his surroundings.

Ken followed Yamato, who had wasted no time with talking and immediately raised his sword to dive into battle, Gabumon behind him. Takeru glanced briefly at the others, then sighed and followed his brother.

"Be careful," Hikari said, and then turned back toward her own sibling once again. The battle seemed to be endless. The King and his son were tiring, but neither had conceded, and meanwhile, Greymon was preventing any other soldiers, human or otherwise, from interfering.

The battles otherwise were widespread across the hilltop. Ken, Yamato, and Takeru battled to keep the Lopmon and their partners away from where Mimi, Hikari, Miyako, and Daisuke were huddled for protection. Togemon, eager for a fight, was aiding in the offense, and Tailmon and Hawkmon were defending against any that might slip through.

Overhead, the fiery Birdramon soared, Sora clinging to her partner's leg as large balls of flames landed precision hits where required. A fair distance from the rest of the group, the doctor's partner Ikkakumon was fending off another large clump of Terriermon and Gotsumon who were attacking, leaving Jyou and Iori to huddle behind the large digimon.

The wizard Koushiro, having now completely mastered the use of his energy ball spell, was doing almost as much damage to the lines of digimon as his partner Kabuterimon, though he was tiring much more quickly. Turning toward the large insect, he said, "Perhaps we should regroup. Do you think you can take me up?"

"Without a problem," the massive digimon replied in a booming voice, and shortly afterward they were soaring easily over the crowds of digimon and human soldiers battling beneath them. Spotting the beleaguered Ikkakumon, Koushiro directed his partner to head in that direction.

At almost the precise moment that the wizard set his feet on solid ground once more, a well-aimed arrow from one of the numerous archers found its mark in the giant, furry digimon. On its own, this would not have been much of a deterrent, for Ikkakumon had already taken several without flinching, but this particular one landed rather near to his eye, and thus might be expected to hurt. Ikkakumon bellowed in pain, and then began to glow.

As Iori, Armadimon, and Jyou looked on, the massive Ikkakumon de-evolved, shrinking back into a rather exhausted looking Gomamon. Jyou hurried forward to examine his partner for serious injury.

"I think I'm all right," Gomamon reported wearily, "just _tired_. Sorry."

"No, no," Jyou consoled, taking his partner in his arms. "You've done all you can, there's nothing to apologize for."

The lack of serious defense, however, meant that their enemy was approaching more closely. Iori silently moved closer to the doctor, and Jyou, shifting his partner to his right arm, raised his left in a gesture of surrender.

"Mega Blaster!" interrupted a voice then, and a bolt of lighting shot past the doctor to land in the empty space between himself and the advancing soldiers. Immediately, they began to retreat again. A moment later, Koushiro arrived.

"I think it's best if we retreat," he said by way of greeting. "It doesn't seem likely that we can get off this hill, but perhaps we can regroup with the others. It seems there is a bit of safety near her highness, in the center." He pointed in that direction, but it was next to impossible to see anything relevant through the soldiers.

"Perhaps," Jyou said warily.

"It doesn't look like that will be an easy task," Iori commented in a similar tone.

"Let me help," Armadimon spoke up then. He took a few steps forward, and then called out, "Rolling Stone!" and curled his body into a tight ball. After a moment, he hurled himself, rolling, toward the crowd of Lopmon and Gotsumon.

The lighter Lopmon who were unfortunate enough to get in his way were immediately bowled over, and even a few Gotsumon were knocked off their feet. Those who had avoided a direct hit immediately moved out of the way.

"That'll do," Koushiro decided. "Come on!"

With that, he took off at a run through the path Armadimon had neatly cleared. Jyou and Iori hurried after him, and Kabuterimon, after firing a few more lightning bolts behind them, followed after.

* * *

As she neared the top of the hill, Jun paused for breath and took in the scene. A huge bird, made entirely of flames, was soaring overhead, and on the ground, a giant mob of human soldiers and a variety of digimon partners were scrambling to avoid the blasts of fire.

The most astonishing thing, however, was that a young woman was clinging tightly to the leg of the fiery bird. Even more astonishing was that Jun recognized her. She stared with wide eyes, unmoving despite the chaos around her.

In the sky, Sora took notice of something odd beneath her; a young woman standing near the edge of the battle, a green plant digimon with a purple flower atop its head standing beside her. At last recognizing her, Sora called up to her partner, directing her to land nearby.

"Jun!" she called upon reaching the ground; Birdramon immediately took to the skies once again. "What are you doing here?"

"What – what's going on? Sora?" Jun managed to ask. She was understandably a little astonished, and dressed in only her nightgown and a robe. "My brother's here, isn't he?"

"It isn't safe here," Sora replied in a way that didn't answer any of the questions. "You should go back inside."

To this Jun only shook her head. "Not without my brother," she answered. "Is he here?" When Sora hesitated to answer, she repeated, "Is he here?"

"In the middle of all this," Sora admitted, gesturing past the fray. "It's not safe, you won't be able to reach him. Jun!"

Despite her sensible warnings, Jun had already taken a few steps in the indicated direction, ignoring the pair of humans who ran past, carrying badly injured Lopmon as they went. Sora hurried to catch up with her, and tried again to persuade her to return. Alraumon was equally interested in departing.

"She's right, Jun, it's not safe here. We should go back and…."

"I am not leaving," Jun replied, interrupting these logical suggestions, "without seeing my brother."

"You're likely to get hurt!" Sora pointed out. "Have you not noticed there's a battle?"

"You're already hurt," was the answer, and it was only then that Sora realized she was bleeding already in several spots. The shoulders of her dress had been severely signed by close proximity to the flames, the hem was in tatters, and her hands were bruised from tightly clutching her partner's leg.

"Yes, but…," Sora protested.

"And my brother is hurt too, isn't he?" Jun continued, interrupting. "I _want to see him_."

Birdramon selected this moment to make another pass overhead, sending a few fireballs into the approaching crowds, causing them to scatter. A path was cleared, at least for the moment. Taking note of this, Jun called, "Thank you!" to the skies and started forward again.

"There's really no discouraging her, is there?" Sora remarked with a sigh.

"Not when she's like this," Alraumon agreed.

* * *

"Daisuke!"

The voice was somewhat distant at first, or perhaps, he thought, it was only that his mind was somewhat distant from his body. His thoughts were swimming in his head, which was itself swimming.

Somewhat nearer to him, however, he heard Miyako say, "Did you hear that?" and she sounded quite a bit clearer than the first voice.

"That couldn't possibly be…," Mimi began, and then broke off, because that which she had expected to be untrue was in fact true. "How…? Togemon!"

"I'm on it!" the cactus replied, and bounded off to clear a path for those approaching. A few moments later, Jun arrived, followed closely by Sora and Alraumon. She paid no attention to any of them, but rushed quickly to her brother.

"Oh, thank heavens," she exclaimed, and then halted abruptly at the sight of him. He was pale, and although the thin shirt he'd been given hid most of his more serious wounds, Daisuke was far from a pleasant sight. Perhaps most alarming was the sword that he persisted in clutching at his side, although he appeared to be incapable of even getting to his feet.

"Have you been _fighting_?" she asked.

Daisuke had lifted his head to take in his sister's presence. He blinked at her a few times, watching as she knelt on the ground beside him. "It was…necessary," he said after a moment. "What are you doing here?"

Her relief had mostly turned to an annoyed mixture of anger and frustration. "Obviously something stupid," she muttered under her breath. "You're half dead as it is, you worry us immensely, and then you rush into battle with a sword?"

He shook his head. "I wasn't rushing," he answered, perhaps unsurprisingly choosing not to argue his point. "It was necessary."

In the midst of this conversation, the battle had been persisting around them. Yamato, Takeru, and Ken had wandered a short distance away, each crossing swords with the soldiers while their partners aided in whatever manner they could.

A sudden, coordinated attack from a line of Gotsumon sent the humans running for cover, and was shortly followed by a barrage of ice crystals from a group of Lopmon on the other side.

Patamon bravely shouted "Air Shot!" toward this second attack, and managed to dispel a number of the crystals, but some made it past him toward the others. Takeru felt a few sharp spikes slice through the skin of his bare arms as he raised them to cover his face.

Behind him, he thought he heard his brother cry out, and he turned quickly to see that blood was indeed spewing from a wound on his leg. Yamato gritted his teeth, attempting to staunch the blood with his hand.

Before Takeru could possibly think of assisting his brother, a chorus of voices shouted " _Poison Smash!"_ as the Mushmon now took their turn to attack. He turned back to see that a row of them, having stepped up behind the Gotsumon, had tossed a barrage of miniature mushrooms.

He had a number of thoughts rush through his mind in a split second, none of which were pleasant, and all of which were best summed up with a single muttered curse from Ken. Takeru found himself merely staring at the mushrooms as they flew through the air, almost in slow motion, for he hadn't the slightest idea of how to defend against such a thing.

There was a repetitive, high-pitched noise that was sounding at the same time, a noise that was persistent enough that it entered into conscious thought and continued in a somewhat annoying manner. Unlike the Mushmon and their attack, which seemed to Takeru to be moving slowly, this repetitive noise was at a normal or perhaps even speeded up tempo.

"Gabumon evolve!" could be heard over this noise, and then, "Garurumon!"

In the space where Gabumon had stood was now a large, four-legged blue and white striped digimon, a somewhat larger and more ferocious version of his previous form. Each of his four paws were tipped with sharp claws, and sharp, ferocious fangs protruded from his snout, easily visible as he opened his wide jaws.

 _"_ _Fox Fire!"_ he shouted in a deep, booming voice, and a burst of blue-white flames spit out from his mouth, filling the air and destroying the poisonous mini-mushrooms. One or two of the Mushmon were seriously injured, and the rest immediately began to fall back, as did the Gotsumon and Lopmon.

Safety now somewhat more assured, Takeru turned his attention to his injured sibling. Meanwhile, the arrival of a large, insect digimon cleared a wider swath of space around the humans gathered there.

"We're all together now," Jyou observed, having climbed down from Kabuterimon with Koushiro and Iori and their partners. He paused at the sight of Hikari, who was watching the battle between her brother and father with some intensity.

"Well, mostly," Gomamon added from the doctor's arms.

"It…can't go on much longer, can it?" Miyako wondered. She glanced around the area – most of the soldiers and their digimon had either retreated or been defeated and were nursing their wounds.


	19. Conclusion

**NINETEEN** CONCLUSION

* * *

The battle between father and son had been going on for several minutes now. Taichi had the advantage of youth; the King had the advantage of experience. Taichi had been badly beaten and wounded in the dungeons; his father was older and slower.

As he swung his sword, his aching arms somehow managing to wield the blade, and found it blocked again, Taichi wondered if he had a chance of winning. Not only was he weakened, but his father had taught him nearly all he knew about swordplay. The king's skill was greater.

Somehow, though, perhaps with magic or some assistance from the digivice, Taichi was managing to hold his own. The battle should have been over long ago. He should have barely been able to stand, never mind hold a sword. Yet here he stood, and here he fought, valiantly.

They had so far not engaged in conversation or banter of any type, but now, as their swords locked together and their faces drew close, the King grinned at his son. The gesture worried Taichi. He drew back from the battle, taking a moment to rest, and his opponent did the same.

"We should stop this senseless battling, son," the King said, lowering his weapon and gesturing across the space between them. "If you would merely see the truth, we could, together, become more powerful than before."

Taichi shook his head. "I'm not interested in power, Father."

"You should be," the King replied darkly. "Only gathering power will protect us from the storm to come." He raised his sword again, and stepped forward to attack.

Taichi had not yet lowered his own weapon, and easily blocked it, swinging his sword in a wide arc. Unprepared for such a move, the King's loose grip meant that he lost hold of his weapon, and it flew some distance away.

There was panic in his eyes now, as he lunged for the sword, and in his haste his feet lost their grip on the grass, and he fell to his knees. Turning to rise, he saw that his son's sword was now at his throat.

All noise, all conversation, all further battle on the field seemed to stop. No one spoke. Taichi could hear his own heart beating in his ears, and his own breath pumping through his lungs, but little else.

"What now?" his father asked. "Will you kill me?"

Taichi said nothing for a long moment. He did not move his sword, he did not speak. He did not turn his eyes. He raised his head, briefly, and met his sister's eyes across the wide grassy field between them.

Hikari turned her head aside. She would not watch. She would not interfere.

A cold wind blew suddenly, and strongly, through the crowd. It was so strong that Taichi found himself pushed back, and he fell to the grass. When he had regained his footing, he saw that a black figure stood a short distance away.

It was a digimon of some sort, though not one he recognized. It appeared to be made entirely out of a blood red cloak, with two horns growing from the hood. As it turned its head to survey those present, Taichi saw that two glowing eyes stared from beneath the hood. From its back grew two huge black wings.

There was a gasp from those assembled, which Taichi realized came from the wizard Koushiro. Apparently he alone recognized the creature. Taichi opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, the digimon did.

"Flame Inferno," he stated in a voice of inky blackness, and extended both hands.

Taichi saw nothing then but a wall of flames.

* * *

Both Taichi and the king were hidden behind walls of flames. Koushiro had turned pale at the sight of the creature.

No one moved.

"Taichi!" Hikari shouted, and moved to run toward him. Her mother moved forward to take her arm, which she attempted to shrug off, to no avail. "Let go of me," she insisted.

Daisuke had gotten to his feet when the strange digimon arrived, and now, as he was closest, he helped the Queen to halt her.

The digimon began to speak then, his deep voice silencing even the princess's protests. "Neither of you is of any use to me," he intoned, speaking to the king and his son. He turned, a fluid motion, to face the rest of the group.

"One of _you_ is, however," he said, and his glowing eyes settled on Ken.

Ken shivered, perhaps from the cold that seemed to have settled in despite the flames. "M-me?" he managed to say. "W-why?"

The creature responded with a deep, rolling laugh. "Soon," he replied, and then vanished in a burst of flames.

"Taichi!" Hikari shouted again, and now, with a renewed burst of energy, broke away from those who would hold her, running toward her brother.

The wall of flames was still standing, having separately encircled both Taichi and his father. Within, the air was growing hot and the circle smaller.

"Can we put it out, something?" Hikari asked, looking back toward the rest of the group. "Please!"

Before anyone could respond, there came a strangled cry from the other circle of flames which held her father. The flames, having apparently accomplished their task, grew suddenly stronger and then vanished entirely, taking their prisoner with them.

"No," Hikari gasped. "Taichi!"

"I'm going to make a run for it!" he called from within his circle. "Stand back."

"No!" Hikari protested. "No, you'll be burned!"

He had made up his mind, however, and now rushed forward, emerging with his hair on fire on the other side of the flames. Immediately, Yamato and Takeru rushed forward, removing their tunics to attempt to douse the flames. His skin and clothing were charred despite this brief encounter with the flames, and he collapsed almost at once into unconsciousness.

Hikari rushed forward to kneel beside him. "Oh, Taichi!" she exclaimed, and looked up to see that Jyou was on his other side. "Please…."

"It isn't bad," Jyou assured her. "Surface wounds only; the flames had no time to go deeper." He lifted his head to speak to the crowd around him in general. "Let's get him inside now."

* * *

"I understand the need for security," Hikari said, "but _inside_?"

Her mother, despite all that had happened, was lounging somewhat comfortably in an office previously used by the king. Given that Taichi was currently suffering from his wounds and the prior king was dead, all urgent matters fell to the Queen. Including the matter of assigning a personal guard to follow Hikari around even the private palace rooms.

The Queen sighed. She had dismissed all other secretaries and clerks so that the conversation might be conducted privately; even the aforementioned guard waited outside.

"Perhaps you do not understand the political ramifications," she said now, leaning back in her desk chair. "Your brother has not yet been able to officially take on the duties of kingship, and has not been crowned. If, for some reason, he were to fail to do so, matters would of course fall to you."

"I understand," Hikari replied, but her mother held up a hand.

"There are many lords and ladies, many servants, many guards, many generals, who may as yet not have decided where their loyalties lie now. Many who might believe Taichi does not deserve the throne. Many who would believe that you do not, either."

Hikari shook her head, confused more than before. "Why would anyone think that?" she asked. "The family line very clearly comes to me, to Taichi."

"You have cousins," her mother replied, "who could be said to hold royal blood as well. If they might disagree with your brother, and if they might be able to persuade enough men to follow them, they might decide to claim power for themselves."

"Within the palace?"

"Even then. Hikari, the men I have assigned to your safety are men I trust. If you should wish others, I will consider them as well. Regardless of what has happened recently, it is my duty to protect the line, to protect the kingdom."

"You did not protect Taichi from Father," Hikari interrupted.

The Queen said nothing for a long time. "The guards stay. I will not negotiate on this point. When your brother is able, he may decide differently, but until he is well enough, I am still your mother."

* * *

The palace halls were quiet. Many of those who had arrived with the intention of attending the birthday party had gone home after the King's demise. Rounding a corner, Hikari saw a familiar figure sitting on the floor.

"Wait here please," she whispered to the guard who insisted on following her. "Please," she added when he began to protest, and he at last nodded his assent.

She walked quietly through the hallway, at last pausing before him. "Daisuke?"

He looked up, startled, for he had neither heard nor seen her coming. His eyes were damp, and he quickly rubbed a hand over them to hide his tears.

"I-I'm sorry," he managed to say, "I-I'll go. I was just…I'm going back now."

"It's all right," she said, kneeling beside him. "You needn't go, I'm merely inquiring if you're all right." She paused a moment. "You're not, are you?"

Daisuke shook his head. "No, no, I'm fine," he said, which was an obvious lie; she knew the pain he'd suffered over the last few days. The fact he had risen to his feet and left his bed was a minor miracle that she was uncertain how he'd managed.

Hikari sighed. "Your mother then?" she concluded, and he looked away now, confirming. "I'm sorry."

"I was able," he began, and then had to pause, finally finishing in a near-whisper, "to say good-bye."

"That's good," she told him. "I'm sure she was glad to see you, to see you were all right. I suppose," she added after a moment, "that you'll want to go home, then."

He nodded, unable to speak. Hikari knew already what he had not spoken of aloud, that her mother had requested that all those involved in the recent events not leave the palace grounds for some time. Even if she allowed it of the others, the role Daisuke played might not permit her to allow it of him. Glancing back toward the guard who had followed her, she knew her ability to interfere with her mother's wishes was limited. All such things, it seemed, would need to wait for Taichi.

"Well, for now, I think you ought to be in bed," she said kindly, choosing as well not to discuss such matters. She beckoned to her guard, and, when he arrived, instructed him to assist with helping Daisuke to his feet.

"No, really, I can make it on my own, princess," he protested.

"I won't be responsible if you should fall and injure yourself in these halls," she replied dismissively. "It isn't far."

* * *

Two days had passed since the incidents on the hilltop, and Taichi felt as though he was well enough to sit up in bed. He was still wrapped in bandages, with healing salves plastered over most of his skin, but he could sit up and he felt he could manage visitors.

And so he summoned them all to his room.

From his bed, where he sat propped upon many pillows, he surveyed the others present. For the meeting, he had asked that extra chairs be brought, so that they all could be seated, and they were now. Gazing over the faces, he saw confusion and fear, pain and exhaustion, and hope.

When they were assembled, he ordered that all servants and guards depart. The meeting was to be private.

"Thank you for coming," he said to the crowd of Chosen. "This will be brief. Koushiro?"

The wizard cleared his throat and got to his feet. "I thought I should inform you all of what I know. The creature who appeared to us on the hill is an immensely powerful digimon known as Demon. The books I have on the subject are vague about the specifics, but he is often referred to as a 'demon lord.' He comes from a place they refer to as the Shadow World."

Silence met these words. Then, in a meek voice, Miyako said, "We don't have a chance of beating him, do we?"

"Not in our current state, no," Koushiro agreed. "However, our knowledge of the power of these digivices that we all received is limited. Most of the references I have found to them are shrouded in myth and legend. Lady Mimi, I believe you have a friend with more knowledge?"

"Perhaps," Mimi admitted. "There's a little old man in the forest north of here. Palmon and I met him not long after we found the digivices. He knew what they were, so it's reasonable to assume he might know more about them."

Taichi nodded. "Would you be agreeable to another visit?"

"Certainly, if I can find him again," Mimi replied. "Koushiro…you would wish to come with me?"

"I would, my lady," he replied. "At your earliest convenience."

When Koushiro had taken his seat once more, Taichi continued, "I understand that, for safety reasons, my mother wished you all to stay here for a while. I also know that a few of you have reasons to leave."

He paused briefly, but declined to identify anyone by name. "I want a promise from each of you that you will return within a few months. I need to know I can count on you." He paused again. "If I have that, then you are free to leave as you wish."

* * *

"Are you sure you will be all right, traveling without me?" Sora asked. They were standing in a small loading and unloading area, where a number of other visitors were boarding and exiting carriages. The process was made more hectic and unpleasant by the deluge of rain that was pouring heavily from the sky.

Miyako wore a waterproof cloak with a large hood. As she had traveled to the palace, so she was returning, with Lord Motomiya as escort. She glanced back toward the carriage, where Ken and Daisuke were already boarded, and her luggage loaded.

"I think I will manage," she replied. "You are certain you don't want to go home?"

Sora now glanced backward, inside. "I should feel better staying," she replied. "You can pass on my letter to Mother? I'm sure she'll understand."

Miyako nodded. "I will pass it on. And I'll be back, like I promised," she added.

Sora nodded, and the two embraced. "Safe travels!" she said.

* * *

Inside, the carriage was as gloomy as expected. Jun had chosen to ride with her father, and so Miyako found that only Ken and Daisuke were present. As they had on the ride to the palace, neither spoke but stared solemnly out the window for most of the ride.

As the day turned to evening, they drew nearer to Ichijouji, their first stop. Ken had received no further word from his mother, but evidence pointed to his father's death, and in any case he was obliged to return home. Despite his own morbid task, Lord Motomiya had offered to escort him, and so the entire party planned to spend the night in Ichijouji.

Miyako had never been, and so peered out the window in hopes of catching a glimpse of the landscape, a futile hope given the darkness and the rain. The carriage slowed to a crawl, and the rain beat ferociously on the roof, making it difficult to conduct conversations if they had wished to do so.

Ken was squinting out the window into the rain. He pulled now his cloak and hood over his head and moved to open the door. Daisuke looked toward him in alarm.

"You're going out in this?" he asked.

"We'll have to eventually," Ken replied. He was nearly shouting to be heard; the rain was even louder once he'd opened the door. Before any further protests could be made, he slipped out the door and vanished into the night.

Miyako and Daisuke exchanged worried glances, then at once moved toward the window in hopes of following his progress. It was a pointless endeavor; they could see nothing in the dark. The rain pounded on overhead.

At long last the carriage moved forward at a slow pace, crawling through a waterlogged, muddy road. The pounding rain grew lesser and then stopped altogether, and they could see servants holding lanterns. At last the carriage halted, and a pair of servants held the door open. They were beneath an overhang designed for just such a purpose.

"Come, come, her ladyship awaits," the servants urged, and so Miyako, Daisuke, Hawkmon, and V-mon followed them through the large wooden doors and into a warm foyer, where they shed their cloaks and were handed warm towels. A short while later, they were led into a comfortable parlor, where Ken, Jun, and the Lord Motomiya were already seated around a raging fire. Also present was a Lady neither Daisuke nor Miyako had seen before.

"Lady Ichijouji," Lord Motomiya said, getting to his feet. "Might I introduce my son?"

Daisuke made his formal bows and the lady welcomed both him and Miyako. "I hope you will forgive me for not having supper waiting," she said, "but it will be only a few minutes more, I am told. Given the weather, I was certain you might be delayed further."

"It is certainly no trouble," Lord Motomiya replied. "I do thank you for your hospitality tonight, given your recent troubles…."

"Yes," Lady Ichijouji said, falling silent for a moment and studying her hands. "My husband was quite seriously ill for a number of months; I confess to some relief that he is no longer in any pain." She was quiet a moment more. "My condolences to you on your own loss."

"Thank you," he replied graciously, and in such a matter the conversation continued, with pleasantries being exchanged on both sides.

They moved into a grand dining room a short while later, and Miyako found herself the subject of some questioning, as it became evident that her own mother called the Lady Ichijouji friend, despite their not having seen one another in many years.

"Terrible," Lady Ichijouji remarked with a shake of her head, "the way things happened. Ah, but I suppose that will all be water under the bridge now, with a new King soon to be crowned and the young lady of Inoue as his friend."

Ken and Daisuke both looked toward Miyako with curious expressions, and she, too, wondered to what the lady referred, but before she could question further the topic had changed to something else and she was not able to pursue the inquiry.

In due time the dinner ended and Ken dutifully volunteered to show the guests to their rooms, despite the presence of a number of servants willing to take on the task. They climbed up several flights of stairs and turned around a few corridors before coming to one in particular.

He gestured to a number of doors. "I suppose you can take which ever room suits you," he said with a shrug.

"And which room is yours?" Daisuke ventured to ask. Ken gestured again, and then they both followed him to this suite.

"I suppose it's mine," Ken said, shrugging as he looked over the neatly made bed and the chests filled with barely-worn clothes. "I think I've spent more time in Motomiya over the last few years than I have here." There was a fireplace, and he used the light from the lantern he carried to light it; a blazing fire was burning within a few moments, giving warmth and light to the room.

Outside, a clap of thunder and flash of lightning indicated that the storm was still going on. Ken tucked his hands into his pockets and sat on the edge of the bed.

"I feel like I should stay," Daisuke said. "As though you should not be alone." At the others' confused expression, he reminded them, "Demon lord, remember?"

Ken shrugged. "You'd be of no help, would you?"

"Maybe I would," Daisuke retorted. "Maybe these… _digivices_ …will give us some ability to resist. Magic or…something."

Ken shrugged again, his expression quite skeptical. "I don't think your presence will do much to deter the will of a demon lord, whatever that is," he replied. "In any case, I have faced danger before and am no more greatly concerned now than then."

"A completely different type of danger," Daisuke pointed out. "Human adversaries, hapless prison guards, a few Gotsumon even – they're nothing compared to this."

"So you presume," Ken replied. "Some of those guards were quite serious fighters, and need I remind you about Leomon?"

"Who nearly killed _both_ of us," Daisuke retorted. He sighed a frustrated sigh. "I feel like _something_ more serious should be done about your safety."

"If I may," Miyako interrupted, as they both seemed to have forgotten her presence, "it seems that being _Chosen_ carries with it its own set of risks. If we are to be defenders, as Koushiro says the legend describes, then we are all going to be in danger. A lot."

Ken frowned thoughtfully, but Daisuke had an expression closer to surprise and alarm. He stared at her with wide eyes for a long moment, apparently unable to speak. Suddenly, realization seemed to dawn.

"You _know_ ," he said, pointing toward Miyako. He glanced back toward Ken, who shrugged casually. Turning back toward Miyako, he demanded, "How long have you known?"

"Probably about a week or so," Ken put in before she could respond. "There hasn't been time…."

Daisuke was clearly unhappy about the development. "This isn't good," he objected. "The more people who know…."

"I didn't tell her," Ken returned before he could rant on.

This alarmed Daisuke even more. He turned back toward Miyako now. "I assure you, I haven't told anyone else," she said, before he could express his displeasure in words. "I don't think anyone else has the slightest suspicions. I defend those who defend me, although I still can't think of why it was I was defended, or why I should have needed such a defense."

"You were defended because you needed it," Ken answered, as he had before. "As to why you needed it, I suppose the King suspected you were Chosen and intended to bring you to him by way of Leomon."

"Yes, but why?" she protested. "He was the king, he could have simply ordered me to come to the palace, and I would have had no choice but to obey. And there was something your mother said a little while ago, something about water under the bridge."

"You never traveled to the palace before," Daisuke recalled. He raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Right?"

She shook her head. "No. My father used to go occasionally, and Sora, but I never did."

"And your sisters?" Ken asked. "You have sisters, right?"

Miyako frowned thoughtfully. "Maybe?" she answered. "They're all older than me, so maybe they did, a long time ago, when I was very young."

"There was something that happened," Daisuke concluded, "between your parents and the king. Something that meant that they kept their distance, and maybe meant that he couldn't easily order you to come."

Silence fell over the group for a few moments. Ken rose to his feet and walked to the trunk that the servants had set at the foot of his bed. He opened it, and rummaged within for a few moments. When he finished, he was holding a small metal object, which held out to Miyako.

She looked at it with a curious confusion for a moment, and then recognized it as the hair pin she had somehow lost. "You took it, while I was sleeping?" she asked.

He nodded. "I meant to return it earlier, but there was never time. I thought, perhaps, you might not have even noticed it was gone."

"I might not have," she replied, "except for that someone else requested one." She turned toward Daisuke.

"They are handy," he commented with a shrug. "Although not handy enough that I've decided to start wearing them myself."

The digimon, though present, had been silent during this discussion, perhaps due to the late hour and their full bellies making them tired. V-mon had fallen half to sleep at his partner's feet.

"Say," he mumbled sleepily, "what do you suppose the digivices will help me evolve to?"

Daisuke looked down at him. "No idea," he replied.

V-mon frowned at him, sitting up. "I'm hoping," he said, "that it's something big, and strong, and maybe fire-breathing. Like Greymon."

"That would certainly be impressive," Hawkmon commented from his partner's arms, where he had been dozing. "Although it would be _more_ impressive if you could fly."

"Yes!" V-mon agreed. Turning toward Wormmon, he asked, "What do you want to be?"

"Oh," Wormmon said quietly, "I'll be fine with anything, as long as it helps me protect Ken."

"Well, of course," Hawkmon agreed, and V-mon nodded his own agreement.

* * *

The End

* * *

Author's note:

Thanks for reading.

As you may have noticed, this story is a re-write of one originally written between 2002 and 2004. Although the story was good, and I obviously liked the universe created enough to write quite a few sequels in the same world, when I went back to re-read it (which I do from time to time), I was consistently disappointed with the writing. And so, although the plot is 99.9% the same, the dialogue, some descriptions, and some other subtleties are, I believe, much better now. You may disagree.

When I was first writing, I had no idea how this story would end, never mind that there would be thousands of words that followed this story, so any foreshadowing was vague and some of it might not have come to pass. I don't think I've done any "retconning" here, but perhaps I may have emphasized one or two things that I did not on first writing.

The plan is to re-write _The Reign of Courage_ , which is the next chapter in this saga - in fact, I am already significantly into that story - so I hope you continue to read if you enjoyed this piece, whether or not you have read it before.

Thanks again,

T.C.


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